A Father's Pride
by Starlite Addiction
Summary: READ CH.6! When Lord Voldemort finds he cannot kill baby Harry, he decides to take the child with him and raise him as his heir. But when he has brought the child to his manor, he realizes something very obvious. Harry is a girl!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Just one time. I do not own Harry Potter and I never will, no matter how much I daydream that I do.

Summary: When Lord Voldemort looks down at baby Harry in his crib, he finds he cannot kill the small boy. So he decides to take the boy with him and raise Harry as his heir. But when he brings the baby with him to his hiding place, he discovers something. Harry is actually a girl! Riana Potter-Riddle: raised by Lord Voldemort, very skilled witch. What will Hogwarts make of her? Dark!Riana Evil!Riana

Pairings: various, no permanent Riana/Draco (sorry!)

I'm sorry! I should be writing the second chapter of The Storm! This story just came to me though, and I can't think of anything for that other one! I'm not sure I'll continue it The Storm. You all decide if I should.

A Father's Pride

A black-hooded figure suddenly appeared on the corner of Godric's Hollow. The person, called Lord Voldemort, smiled in the darkness of the night. Around him, a dozen other people also appeared. They all crowded around him, eerily quiet.

"My Lord," whispered another man. "The Potters are all home. They are in the living room." Voldemort nodded. "Well done, Lucius," he praised. "It's time."

The men and women crowded around Voldemort all moved back a little so that he had more space. They formed a round circle surrounding the leader. "Go," commanded Voldemort, and the circle started walking silently down the street.

They reached the home that they were searching for and stopped. Voldemort whispered a spell and the front door opened. Inside, shouting and screaming started. Voldemort and two others entered the home. In the hallway, they met a breathless James Potter.

"Lily!" he called. "Go! Take the baby!"

Voldemort smiled and raised his wand to James' heart. "Goodbye, Potter," he whispered. "Avada Kedevra!"

Upstairs, Lily was running down the hallway quickly, clutching the baby to her chest. She entered her child's bedroom and searched for the portkey that she and Dumbledore had set up in case this happened. She finally found the small blanket with blue horses on it and walked over to the crib, laying he baby in it. Downstairs, she heard someone shout and a large bang. "James!" she wept.

She could here something coming down the hallway. Quickly, she wrapped the blanket around her child and laid it back down in the crib. Suddenly, the doors to the bedroom burst open and Lily turned around to meet the face of Lord Voldemort. He smiled.

"Hello, Lily," he said softly, almost caringly. "Move aside."

Lily shook her head and moved closer to her child. "Please don't," she whispered.

Voldemort sighed, and then flicked his wand. "Avada Kedevra!" he cried. Before Lily could utter a sound, she was engulfed in green light and fell to the ground, dead.

Voldemort smiled and moved over to the crib. He looked down at the little figure laying in it. The child was smiling innocently at him, and for a moment, he felt his heart stir with something almost like love. He shook himself, and then pointed his wand to the child. "Avada Kedevra!" he roared.

The child was surrounded by green light. Voldemort started when the energy of the curse gathered up and rebounded back to him. He was just able to duck before getting hit. He looked at the child again. Hidden under a nest of black hair was a scar, shaped like a lightning bolt. He gasped, then backed away from the child and thought for a moment.

This child was very powerful to have not been killed by THE killing curse. Voldemort thought of how he could use the child's power in his favor. He then made his decision, and decided to take the child as his new heir.

Moving back to the child, he gathered it in his arms and looked down at it. "Sleep now," he whispered, touching a finger to the child's forehead. Brilliant green eyes shut sleepily.

Voldemort whispered a few words, and with a pop, he appeared in the Serpent Manor, as he called it, where he lived. He was in his bedroom. Decorated extravagantly in blacks and greens, it was fit for a king.

Voldemort went over to his bed and sat down. "Stelly!" he called.

A pop was heard and a houself appeared by Voldemort. She wrung her hands cautiously. "Yes, Master?" she asked, and was handed the baby.

"Fix him up. Give him proper clothes, and change his diaper, if you please," Voldemort said, wrinkling his nose. Stelly nodded and disappeared.

Voldemort, or Tom as only his closest followers knew him, sighed and took his cape off. Under it he wore a black robes that billowed around him nicely. He started to pull off his robes to change into nightclothes (Dark Lords are human also!) when a pop announced that Stelly had returned.

"Master Lord!" she cried, clutching the baby to her chest. "The baby is a girl, sir, not boy!" Tom sprung up and walked over to Stelly. He grabbed the baby and looked into her diaper. Sure enough, it seemed this was a feminine baby.

"Well this changes things," he muttered, handing the baby back to Stelly. "Alright, change _her _into proper nightclothes and put her to bed. We'll work out other things tomorrow." Stelly nodded and left again. Tom sighed to himself.

"A girl, huh?" he whispered. "Tom, what is wrong with you? Go read for once!" He walked over to his dresser and pulled out a book. _The Potter Line, _it was called. He flipped through it until he found what he was looking for. "Okay, Lily and James Potter gave birth to a baby girl on July 31st. The girl was christened Riana Amerie Potter." He shut the book and sighed yet again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately.

"Okay, Riana Amerie Potter," he whispered. "This will be strange Tom. Can you handle a baby girl? This has to be the ultimate strength challenge." Then he fell asleep in his large comfy bed.

The next morning, Tom was woken up rudely by a shrill wailing. He cursed viciously and sat up in bed, only to see a quivering Stelly holding a crying Riana and staring at her master. The poor houself seemed to be near tears.

"I is sorry master!" she squeaked. "The Little Mistress is not being calmed down by me!" Tom sighed and shot Stelly an evil glare. He wasn't nearly as cruel as the world made him to be. He didn't always hurt others who were innocent, especially not women or children, unless he was seriously angry, and he knew that Stelly had not done anything. Sighing, he took Riana from her hands and held the child carefully.

The little girl stopped crying and looked up at Tom, who smiled at her softly. "You are crazy," he murmured, and Riana giggled.

"Stelly, please go prepare breakfast and bring it up here. And bring some applesauce and milk for Riana." Stelly nodded, smiled at the baby, and disappeared.

Tom looked back at Riana. The little girl wore some small black robes that were lined with emerald green that matched her eyes. Stelly had given her a beautiful diamond headband to hold her hair back. The lightning-scar stared up at Tom hauntingly. He had always wanted a family. He always dreamed of what it would be like to have a child; someone he could care for, and could care for him. After all, he was only twenty! (I'm tweaking things up a lot, because I want Riana to have a young father.) In reality, he had been alive longer, but a very strange spell that he had once been hit with caused him to start aging more slowly when he had reached his eighteenth birthday.

Stelly returned and handed Tom a tray, holding pancakes and orange juice for him and some mushy applesauce and lukewarm milk for Riana. He thanked her, and then started to feed Riana. She was very cooperative and didn't fuss at all. Tom then ate his food, and since he wasn't going to get any more sleep, he got out of bed and got dressed.

"Well little Riana," Tom sighed. "I guess you'll stay with Stelly during the day, okay? The others can't know about you yet." Riana just gurgled. Tom shook his head, smiled at the baby, and let Stelly take care of her while he went to talk to his followers.

The next two years passed just like that. Tom fed Riana in the morning, let Stelly take care of her in the day, and fed her again at night. He got a black crib to put in his room for her.

Nearing her third birthday, Tom began to notice some changes in Riana. Whenever she was with him, small explosions seemed to happen, and Tom soon figured out that her magical ability was developing. This excited him, as it meant that Riana could soon take classes studying the magical world. He figured it was time to get Riana a teacher.

It was the night of Riana's third birthday. The entire day Tom had stayed with her in her new room, which was decorated in blacks and silvers and was very spacious. The little girl had been spoiled by her father today, receiving many new clothes, toys, and books. Riana had been able to read since she was two-in-a-half, and could read small chapter books and long picture books.

That night, there was a Death Eater meeting. Today was the day that Riana would be showed to his Death Eaters. Tom had Riana dressed in her finest black robes with a blood-red collar, and her hair had been washed so that it shined. It was currently hanging straight down behind her, glittering in some spots from the special shampoo Stelly had used.

At the meeting, Voldemort sat in his throne-like chair, and Riana stood as straight as a three-year-old could beside him. There was a swish of robes and a dozen Death Eaters appeared in a semi-circle in front of Voldemort. They each bowed to him deeply, many of them sneaking looks at Riana with curiosity.

"My Loyal followers," Voldemort said quietly, "today I have an announcement to make." The Death Eaters were silent. Voldemort smiled inwardly.

"I would like to introduce Riana Amerie Potter-Riddle, my adoptive daughter." Many of the Death Eaters gasped. This was certainly a surprise.

"Today is her third birthday, and as a treat, I thought she might receive her first wizard teachers. I assure you she is very capable of handling whatever tasks you put in front of her. Will any of you be volunteering to teach her?" Six people stepped forward; Bellatrix Black, Rudolphus Lestrange, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Anthony Crabbe, and Gregory Goyle Senior. Voldemort smiled.

"Excellent. Crabbe, Goyle, you both will teach her Healing. Severus, you will guide her in Potions. Lucius, Transfiguration. Rudolphus, Charms. And Bellatrix, I would like you to teach her Beginner's Dark Arts, and when she's older, Divination and other things I will tell you of. All of you others, you will be in charge of making sure nobody catches sight of Riana out of the castle, and guard her when she does go out. You are dismissed. Severus, Lucius, Bellatrix, stay behind." Those three nodded and stayed while the other Death Eaters left again. They moved closer to Voldemort after he beckoned them.

"Riana," Voldemort called softly. "Please go meet your major teachers."

Riana moved away from her father's side and down to where three of her teachers stood. She observed each one for a moment. Lucius Malfoy's long silvery hair and blue eyes made him look like a nice, but important man. Severus looked like someone always hungry for knowledge. He would probably be good at teaching Potions. His long black hair was pulled back by an elastic band, and his dark eyes swirled with something almost like awe.

Bellatrix Black was different from her partners. Her long, pale blonde hair went past her shoulders, and her light blue eyes were filled with love. She looked like a very kind woman to friends, but Riana had a child suspicion that she could be a nasty enemy, despite her appearance.

"Hello," Riana said politely, "I'm Riana Riddle. When do we start lessons?" Lucius and Severus shared a glance, but Bellatrix just smiled and knelt down to the child's height. "Hi Riana. I'm Bella. I'm very sure we'll start classes soon. I look forward to teaching you." Riana smiled back. She liked this woman.

Voldemort cleared his throat. "Riana, you will start your lessons tomorrow. You're teachers will meet you in the library every morning, and you'll start out with half an hour of each class. After that, you'll have lunch with your teachers, and then have the afternoons off. You're classes will grow longer over time. Now, hurry off to bed." Riana nodded, gave her father a quick hug, and then left the room.

Voldemort turned to his three most loyal followers. "You all will not go easy on her just because she is young. I assure you, Riana is beyond capable of whatever a child thrice her age can do. Dismissed." The three Death Eaters nodded. They each disappeared with a small pop.

Voldemort sighed and looked at his beautiful snake Nagini, who was curled around his shoulder. "**_You do think she's ready for them, right?_**" he hissed worriedly. Nagini just smiled.

The next morning, Riana woke up early and got out of bed. She took a quick shower, something very few three-year-olds could do by themselves, and dressed in her daily black robes. Today's robes had a green collar.

Riana walked over to her bed, where Stelly had laid breakfast when she had been in the shower. Wolfing down some waffles and downing a glass of apple juice, she wiped her face clean and walked to the library.

Riana walked into the large library, shutting the heavy doors behind her. She walked to the back of the library, where she saw Crabbe and Goyle waiting for her. Both were tall and slightly bulky, though Riana had a feeling that they both were smarter than they looked.

"Hello, Young Mistress. Please come and sit down," Goyle said, motioning to a soft rug that was lying on the ground. Riana took a seat apprehensively, staring at the two men in front of her. Crabbe smiled at her to soothe her fears.

"Don't worry, Mistress. Today we're going to go a little slow." Riana nodded, and smiled when the men sat down across from her.

"Okay, the first thing you need to learn to do when healing is clear your mind. Try and draw all of your close memories to the back of your head. Leave your mind completely blank," Goyle commanded. Riana nodded and shut her eyes. She tried to force all of her memories behind her. She soon had mastered it, and could clear her mind on a whim. Goyle nodded approvingly.

"Okay, now we're going to see where your abilities are. Here," Crabbe cut himself on the palm of his hand with a small knife, then moved his hand over to Riana, "Focus on trying to mend this cut with your mind. Try to imagine it sewing back together. Put a little of your energy into it, but not too much."

Riana nodded and stared at the cut. She imagined the blood going away and the skin mending together. After about a minute in a half, she saw the blood flow begin to slow down and the cut start to pull together. After another minute, the cut was healed, leaving only a faint scar.

Goyle whistled. "Riana, you have a very powerful gift. I couldn't heal it that quickly until I was eight." Crabbe nodded, and Riana blushed. "Thank you," she whispered. The lesson continued like that, Crabbe and Goyle testing Riana's raw healing abilities, until half-past ten and Rudolphus appeared beside the others. "My turn," he said in his deep, calm voice. Goyle and Crabbe both nodded to Riana and left the room.

Rudolphus stared at the little girl in front of him. She stared back up at him coolly, her small figure about the size of an ant compared to his booming 6' 4". After a few minutes, he spoke.

"Well little one, I have to say that I am surprised our Lord decided to get a daughter. You must have exceptional skills to be praised so highly by him." Riana blushed yet again and looked down at her feet. "Thank you," she whispered. "What are we going to learn today?" Rudolphus smiled.

"I think that we'll start with something fun and simple today. _Bubbilio!" _Out of Rudolphus' wand floated about four hundred bubbles of different sizes, the largest ones being big enough for Riana to fit inside. The girl squealed with delight, and her teacher smiled.

"I thought you might like it. Your father provided this wand for you to use on beginning spells." Rudolphus pulled a wand out of his cloak and handed it to Riana. The girl grabbed it and could feel the controlled magic vibrate inside of it. She smiled.

"Okay, now you try the spell," Rudolphus commanded. Riana nodded and flicked her wand. "_Bubbilio!"_ she cried. Many bubbles flew out of her wand, but not quite how many Rudolphus had produced. The man smiled anyway.

"Excellent, Mistress. You've mastered the theory of it on your first go. Keep trying."

After the lesson was over, Riana had managed to produce about six hundred bubbles in each go. She was very proud of herself.

A swish of cloaks announced that Lucius Malfoy had appeared. He nodded to Rudolphus. The taller man bowed respectably to Riana before disappearing.

"Hello Young Mistress," Lucius said carefully, looking down at the tiny girl in front of him. She groaned. "Can't anyone actually call me by my first name? Mistress makes me sound old." Lucius smiled.

"Okay then. Hello Riana, I am Lucius Malfoy, your Transfiguration teacher. Today we will start on something rather easy." Lucius laid a small blue bird on the ground. It appeared that the bird couldn't move. "Can you try and change this into a music box? Imagine it turning into the box, then point your wand at it and say, _'Sarimulia!'_

Riana nodded. She concentrated on the music box. _"Sarimulia!" _The bird started cheeping and transformed into a feather-covered music box. Lucius laughed.

"Let's try it again," he said. Riana nodded and said the spell again. This time it turned into a perfect music box, though it played when it was closed and was silent when it was open.

The little girl kept on trying until she finally managed to get it. "Yes!" she cried, and was allowed to keep the beautiful sapphire-encrusted music box for her hard work.

Lucius disappeared after bowing to Riana. A moment later, Severus appeared. Riana studied him again as he walked towards her. "Hello Riana," he said softly. The girl nodded.

"So, what do you already know abut Potions?" Severus asked, fully expecting the girl to not know a thing about the class. Riana however, surprised him. She started on a long, interesting speech about the theory of making potions, how many ingredients had to be added a certain way, and what kinds of potions she already knew of. Severus was, to put it lightly, impressed.

"Very good," he said to the girl. "Since it seems that you already know a lot of potions, why don't you choose the one you want to make today out of this book?" He handed Riana a large book filled with children-interesting potions to make. Finally, the little girl chose a potion that changed a person's hair color to the opposite of what it was now. For instance, if a person's hair were black, it would turn white. The spell only lasted a few days, though.

Severus nodded at Riana's choice. He conjured a cauldron and a burner under it, then all of the ingredients that Riana would need. "Okay, if you need help then ask me," he said, then sat back to allow the girl to begin.

Riana looked at the book. The first thing to do was turn the burner on low. She did this, and then started on step two. For fifteen minutes, she worked silently, working through all the directions. When she was finally done, she turned and looked at Severus expectantly.

The man had been watching Riana in awe. Quickly he shook himself of his stupor and went over to observe the girl's potion. It looked nearly perfect, only a tad off in color. He smiled and bottled some up for the little girl. "Here, you can keep this," he said, and Riana squealed and hugged Severus. The man, although first in shock, slowly moved to hug the girl back. After a dew seconds they were interrupted by a stifled laugh.

Bellatrix Black moved from behind the bookshelves where she had been spying on the other two. "Hello Severus. I never thought I'd see the day when you gave a child a hug," she smirked. Severus turned red. He cleaned up the potions stuff, bowed goodbye to Riana, and disappeared.

Bellatrix smiled at Riana. "I've been sitting behind those books all day watching you and your teachers, and I have to say that you must be the first person who Severus has hugged in twenty years. Quite astounding." Riana smiled. She already liked this woman.

Bellatrix stretched and yawned. "Okay. Today we're actually going to do something. Since I'm supposed to teach you the Dark Arts, we'll start with defensive curses _against _the Dark Arts, and then go deeper. How's that?" Riana nodded. "Sounds cool," she replied. Bellatrix grinned.

"Okay then. The first spell you are going to learn is a very simple, yet useful spell. Expelliarmous!" Riana's wand fell out of her hand. She gasped. Bellatrix threw the extra wand that she now held back to Riana. "Now you try," she commanded.

Riana concentrated hard. "Expelliarmous!" she shouted. Bellatrix's wand shook slightly, but didn't move out of its owner's hand. Bellatrix smiled evilly, and Riana just tried harder.

By the end of the lesson, Riana had perfected _Expelliarmous, Reducto, _and _Stupefy. _Bellatrix gave the little girl a lollypop. "Here you go, a chocopop. Changes from chocolate to cherry with every other lick." Riana took it gratefully and began sucking on it. "Thank you," she said sweetly, and Bellatrix laughed again.

"No problem my dear. Now, your father will be here soon and I'm sure he will be eager to here what you learned today. Farewell!" With a pop, Bellatrix disappeared. After a few moments, Tom appeared in her place. "Let's go out to the gardens, and you can tell me about your day," the man suggested. Riana nodded, and the two walked out to the back of the castle into the gardens. They sat down on the edge of a large fountain decorated to be a snake. Over sandwiches, Riana described her day to her father. He nodded at her accomplishments.

"I'm very proud of you," he said when the three-year-old had finished. "Now, what are you going to call your teachers? I'm sure you'll get fed up with always saying Professor." Riana thought for a moment. Her eyes lit up.

"How about Uncle Crabbe, Uncle Goyle, Uncle Rudolph, Uncle Luci, Uncle Sevvie, and Aunt Bella," the girl suggested. Tom smiled, imagining what his supporters, especially Severus, would think of those names. "That sounds good," he said, and they finished up their lunches in a comfortable silence.

The next eight years past quickly. When Riana was ten-and-a-half, she was able to perform seventh year spells and potions, and some more advanced than that. Thanks to Bellatrix, she could also perform Occlumency, Legilency, Divination, and could Apparate. She was studying the theory of being an Animagus, and would hopefully be able to manage it by the time Christmas came around. She had grown up to be gorgeous, with long black hair that went down to her waist with silver highlights, bright green eyes, and small pink lips.

On the day of her eleventh birthday, Riana woke up early and got out of bed to take a quick shower. After that, she dressed in her special silver robes, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and walked to the library.

Riana entered the library and stopped. Waiting for her their were not her two healing uncles, but Aunt Bellatrix. The woman smiled and opened her arms, which Riana leapt into happily. "Aunt Bella!" she cried, and Bellatrix laughed.

"Happy Birthday, dear. Now, your father told me that we're to eat breakfast, then go out shopping, as you're supposed to be receiving a certain letter today." Bellatrix smiled as an owl soared through the open window in the library and fluttered over to Riana. The girl took the scrolls from the owl's leg and transfigured some bacon rinds for the owl to munch on. She opened the letter and began to read:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of _WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

_(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,_

_Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards_

Dear Ms. Potter

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

Riana grinned. "Awesome!" she cried. "Are we going to Diagon Alley?" Bellatrix nodded. "Yes. Hang on. First we have to send the owl back." Riana made some ink and a quill appear out of thin air. She scribbled onto the paper that she would be going to Hogwarts, sent off the letter with the owl, and conjured some breakfast bars for herself and Bellatrix. Munching on those, the two changed magically into black robes with hoods, which they pulled up to hide their faces. Then they apparated to the edge of Diagon Alley.

Riana and Bellatrix quickly hurried to Gringotts. They entered the large building and hurried up to the front desk where they met with a goblin. "Hello. We would like to access the Riddle vault," Bellatrix hissed from under her cloak. The goblin showed a flash of shock and fear before taking the key that the woman gave him. "Certainly, right this way. GRIPHOOK!" he called.

Another goblin walked up and led Riana and Bellatrix to a side door. They entered and climbed into a mine cart- with a small whistle from Griphook, they were off.

Riana and Bellatrix kept their heads covered during the trip. Riana, in addition to wearing the hood, had the bottom half of her face covered with a black scarf. It was a wizard tradition that Bellatrix told her meant the girl behind the scarf was skilled at the use of magic.

After going through a wild maze of twisting passages, they were at the vault. Bellatrix and Riana followed Griphook out of the cart. They stood back as he opened up the vault with the key, and both gasped at its contents.

The vault had to be at least a hundred by a hundred feet large, and was filled with piles and piles of gold. There were plenty of other items also, which Riana saw were all Dark items. Bellatrix motioned Riana to enter the vault, which the little girl did. She filled up her bag with handfuls of gold coins, then shrunk it and stuck it in her pocket.

They exited the vault and got back into the cart. One wild ride later, they were standing back in the sunlight outside of Gringotts.

Riana pulled out the list of supplies she needed for school. She looked it over, and then grimaced. Bellatrix laughed. "Alright. I'll meet you at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor in three hours, okay?" Riana nodded, and the two females separated.

Riana headed to Madam Malkin's Robes and entered the small store. She wrinkled her nose at the full cheeriness of it, and then walked up to the counter. "Hello, I would like to purchase a set of school robes."

The woman behind the desk smiled at Riana. "Certainly dear, follow me." The two walked to the back, where another child was already being fitted. "Hop onto the stool dear," the woman commanded, and Riana obeyed, listening to the boy beside her.

"Hello. Are you going to Hogwarts also?" Riana nodded. This boy looked like trouble. His red hair was stuck up everywhere, and his face was covered in spots of dirt.

"I do hope that I don't get into Slytherin, don't you?" the boy asked lazily. Riana stiffened. "Don't you think that's being a little prejudicial?" she asked quietly. The boy just looked at her. "You can't be sticking up for Slytherins, can you? There isn't a bad witch or wizard out there who wasn't in Slytherin."

"All done, dear," the woman said, and Riana hopped off the stool, right before she could've throttled that boy. "Thank you ma'm," she said politely, and handed the lady some galleons when she was handed her new clothes. She glared at the boy, and then walked out of the shop quickly.

"Yuck. Stupid Redheads," she muttered under her breath as she shrunk the robes and stuck them in her bag. Then she looked at her list again. "Alright, I need to head to Flourish and Blotts," she muttered, then headed for the bookshop. Once there, she bought all of her books and a few of the higher-priced books on Dark Magic.

Once she was done with that, she walked into another shop and purchased an enchanted silver cauldron that was non-flammable up to 2000 degrees Fahrenheit, a nice set of scales for weighing potions ingredients, and a collapsible gold telescope. Then she visited the apothecary, which smelled like bad eggs and rotten cabbage mixed. In there, she met Severus.

"Hello Sev," Riana said softly to the back of the man. Severus turned around quickly, but seeing only Riana, he relaxed. "Merlin Ri, don't do that," he whispered. Riana grinned.

"What are you doing?" she asked, staring at the string of dragon teeth that Severus had in his hand. He grimaced. "I'm making potions for Albus and Poppy," he said, sounding very much unwilling. Riana shrugged. "Have fun. I've got to get my potions ingredients. Excuse me, I need a few of those." As Riana gently grabbed two unicorn horns, Severus stared at her. "What do you need those for? Those aren't on your list." Riana smiled.

"I just want to have a little fun at my first potions class. You know, just to welcome the other students to the beautiful world of potions." Severus stared at the girl, and then shook his head. "As long as it doesn't ruin any equipment," h muttered. "Honestly, you're just like your father."

"Which one?" Riana asked innocently. Severus shuddered. "Both!" he cried, then hurried to the checkout counter. Riana laughed after him.

Once she had gotten everything she needed, Riana hurried to Florean Fortescue's ice cream. Bellatrix stood outside, slowly licking a chocolate cone. She handed Riana a strawberry one. "Hurry up, we need to get your wand," she instructed. When they had both finished their ice cream, they quietly slipped down a side street that was much darker and lonelier. Knockturn Alley, it was called.

"Come on dear," Bellatrix commanded, and they entered a small shop labeled Anita's Specialty Wands. They hurried up to the counter, Riana looking around curiously. "This is strange," she muttered to herself.

Out of the shadows stepped a woman that looked to be a little younger than Bellatrix, with black hair and light eyes. "Good afternoon," she said softly. "I'm Anita. You must be Riana Riddle. I was expecting you." Riana nodded nervously, and moved forward when the woman gestured her to. A wand was placed in her hand, and she gave it a flick, but nothing happened. "That's all right dear, try this one," the woman said. Riana tried again, and this time a shower of pink sparks came out. With a small shriek, Riana dropped the wand. "What's wrong?" Bellatrix asked quickly, and Riana shuddered. "It was pink," she moaned.

The woman just shook her head and handed Riana a final wand. "Here you go dear, the third time is always the charm." Riana took the wand. Instantly she felt warmth coursing through her fingers. She brought the wand up, and then brought it down again. A fountain of glittering gold and silver sparks flew out, and Riana smiled. The woman nodded and took the wand to wrap it up. "Ah yes. This is interesting," she muttered to herself, and Riana decided not to ask why.

When they had exited the shop, Bellatrix turned to Riana. "Eleven and a half inches, made of crystal bark, with the strand of a magical leopard inside. Riana dear, I think that's the strangest wand I've ever heard of." Riana nodded. "Me too. Hey, can we go into the pet shop? I want to see what there is." Bellatrix nodded, and they walked into a shop called Gregory's Magical Creatures. Riana smiled when she walked up to the front desk and saw Gregory Goyle standing there. "Uncle Goyle!" she cried out softly. The man smiled.

"Well, Hello Riana. You here to get a pet?" Riana nodded. "Yeah, I want something different, but not too big. What do you have?" Gregory thought to himself, and then disappeared down a row of shelves. He reappeared a few moments later, holding a covered cage. "This might be good for you," he decided, and pulled off the cover. Riana squealed excitedly.

Inside was a baby cheetah cub. It was about a foot wide and a foot high, and was peering at Riana sleepily. The girl carefully placed her hand up to the cheetah's nose, and he sniffed it for a moment. Finally deciding she was okay, he licked her hand a couple of times.

"He's so cute!" Riana cried. "How much for him?" Gregory thought for a moment. "How about he's free. This is your present from me and Uncle Crabbe." Riana smiled and gave her god-uncle a big hug. "Thank you," she said softly, and then moved back to Bellatrix. With a pop, both girls disappeared.

A few moments later, Riana and Bellatrix appeared in the library of Riddle Manor. Riana took all of her items and gave her aunt a hug. "I'm going to go put this all away," she decided. "Bye, Aunt Bella!" The woman waved goodbye to Riana as the girl walked back to her own room.

Riana reached her room and put away all of her stuff. When she was finished, she took the cage holding her new pet and opened it. "Come on out," she said softly.

The baby cheetah slowly walked out of the cage. He crawled into Riana's arms, purring softly. Riana laughed. "I'm going to name you Valiant," she decided. "You're very brave." Valiant purred as Riana scratched his head. The two walked out of the room and went to find Riana's father.

Tom was sitting in the garden again. It was his favorite spot. His dark hair framed his face nicely, and his dark eyes, flecked with red, held joy. He could hear his daughter looking for him. "By the fountain, Riana," he called out softly.

Riana appeared from behind some bushes and smiled at her father. She had changed back into her silver robes. Tom smiled when he saw the cheetah cub nestled in her arms. "He's wonderful," the man said. "Why don't you let him explore the gardens?"

Riana understood the hidden meaning. She put Valiant on the ground gently, and he scampered off into some other part of the garden. Riana walked over to her adoptive father. She sat beside him on the edge of the fountain, dipping her bare feet into the water.

"What's wrong?" she asked him. He sighed.

"I'm going to miss you so much," he said sadly. "I always tried not to think of the time that you would actually be leaving me." Riana looked into the water, her face holding a slight frown. "Daddy, please stop it. I don't want to leave either. But the world needs to learn that I am here. I'm not dead. Which probably isn't a good thing for them," she added thoughtfully. Tom laughed softly.

"Riana, please tell me the truth. Are you upset that I killed your real parents? Or that I brought you here?" Riana looked up at Tom. "I've told you before, I'm happy here. Here I can be my dark, evil witch self. Out there, I would have to pretend to love the light side. It's disgusting! I mean, they think that you're some kind of maniac who only enjoys going out and killing thousands of people! They're so wrong!"

Tom smiled down at his daughter. "Come here," he commanded softly. Riana obeyed and moved closer to her father so that she was leaning against his chest. Tom pulled a small box out of his pocket. "This is for you," he said softly.

Riana opened the small box and gasped. Inside lay two black diamond earrings, cut into stars. There were also two bracelets, made of star-shaped black pearls. And finally, there was a necklace made of silver, holding a star-shaped black diamond.

Riana squealed. "Thank you Daddy!" she cried, and gave her father a large hug. He smiled. "You're welcome. Now, it was your choice not to have a party, but I do have to show you something. Come with me." Voldemort drew up his hood and made his eyes turn red. Riana called to Valiant and gathered him in her arms before following her father.

They walked through the castle to the meeting room where Voldemort always talked to his Death Eaters. "Come on, Dark Lady," he called behind him. Riana confusedly followed him into the room and smiled. "Uncle Lucius!" she cried.

The silver-blonde haired man smiled and put his hand on the shoulder of a boy right beside him. The boy looked to be an exact replica of the man, except his eyes were dark blue. He stood quietly, seemingly intimidated by the presence of both Riana and Voldemort.

Lucius bowed swiftly to Voldemort. "Hello, Master," he said, and then turned to Riana. "Young Mistress, this is my son Draco. He will be joining you at Hogwarts this year. He is going to be your partner." Riana nodded and turned to Draco. He bowed slightly, and she smiled. "Master Draco, I look forward to having your presence in school. Are you good at magic?" The boy nodded. "My specialty is Transfiguration," he said.

Riana nodded and smiled down at her pet. "This is Valiant. He's going to be joining us at school. Would you like to pet him?" Draco moved forward slightly and rubbed Valiant behind the ears. The cheetah cub purred.

Riana looked at Tom. "So father, are there any more surprises I should be cautious of?" she asked lightly. The man smiled and lowered his hood. Riana heard Draco gasp slightly at seeing the Dark Lord's true face, but she didn't comment on it.

"Well little snake, you still have to receive your Dark Mark. Maybe the Malfoys would like to join us during the ceremony," he said. Riana turned to Lucius, who nodded. "We would love to," he announced. The four walked out of the room and down the hall to another one. This room was empty except for a large bowl standing on a pedestal in the center, and a small shelf that held a large variety of things in one corner. "Go pick out your ingredients, Riana," Tom said softly.

Riana walked over to the shelf. She stared at it's contents for a few moments, then got a small bowl and put two gold unicorn hairs, a dragon nail, fairy dust, a green snake scale, and some vampire blood into it. She got a spoon and mashed it all together, then returned to the center of the room and poured the contents into the large bowl.

Voldemort moved forward to the bowl and looked into the light blue potion. He muttered a few words, cast his hand over the bowl, and then gently grabbed Riana's arm and stuck it into the now boiling potion. The girl hissed but otherwise didn't do anything that signaled she was in pain. After a few moments, Voldemort released her and Riana pulled her hand back quickly, looking at her right wrist. She gasped.

Now engraved on her wrist, in a dark blue, was a picture of a star with a magical creature on the edge of each of the points: a unicorn, a dragon, a sphinx, a snake, and a phoenix. She smiled, admiring the mark.

Voldemort looked at the mark. "Very nice," he said. "If you push this mark, it signals my top six Death Eaters, and myself, that you are in trouble." Voldemort muttered, "Disappera," and the mark disappeared. He placed a strong charm on it that made others think there was no mark at all. Then he turned to Riana.

"Dark Lady, I think that you and Master Draco should go into the gardens," he said. Riana knew that it was a command. She and Draco walked out of the room quickly. When Voldemort was sure they were both very far away, he turned to Lucius.

"Lucius, I will just warn you. Riana is the most precious thing to me in the world. I would go a prisoner to the light if it meant that she could stay alive. If she is harmed at all and you knew of it, you will be _severely _punished." Lucius nodded and the two men walked out of the room in search of their children.

Draco and Riana were wandering through the garden, following a scampering Valiant. Draco was slightly nervous. He was, after all, alone with the Dark Lord's daughter. However, his fears disappeared when Riana smiled at him.

"It's okay, Draco. My father's not here right now. We can talk." Draco nodded. He thought about what he wanted to ask. He was not sure if it would be too bold. "My Lady?" he started. Riana just nodded. "Yes?" she answered.

Draco took a deep breath, and then continued. "H-have you ever killed anybody?" he asked quickly.

Riana stopped walking and turned to Draco. She stared at him deeply, like she was trying to look into his soul. "My fifth birthday. I was in the woods. Someone tried to attack me. I was alone. I had no choice. I stuck a knife in his heart." She began walking again, and so did Draco, once he had gotten over him momentary shock.

A few moments later, both children's parents found them. Draco and Lucius both said goodbye to the Riddles and apparated away. Riana, after calling to Valiant, took her father's hand and they walked back up to the castle together.

"So, what did you and Draco talk about?" Tom asked. Riana smiled. "Daddy, don't worry. He just asked me a question." Tom laughed.

They reached the castle and entered. Tom turned to Riana. "Well little snake, I think it's best if you went and studied over your books. I've got some business to attend to in America. I'll be back tomorrow." Riana nodded and kissed her father before he apparated away, then went up to her room. "I can't wait to go to school," she whispered to herself.

The next month passed uneventfully. Riana reviewed all of her books, even though she had already done everything in them. By the end of August, Valiant had grown slightly bigger, so that now he was almost too big for Riana to hold. However, Riana knew a spell that could shrink him whenever he got too big, and she had started to teach it to the cheetah so he could change his own size.

When September 1 came around, Riana was ready. She wore a set of emerald robes, covered by her plainest black cape. Her long hair was flowing out in curls behind her. Valiant was in his cage, and growling very loudly about it.

"I'll let you out on the train," Riana whispered as she levitated all of her luggage down the stairs. When they reached the ground, the trunks all disappeared and Riana knew they had been magically transferred to the trunk of the limo waiting outside. She walked out the front door, greeting her father who was waiting for her. His clothes were normal looking, if a little dark, and his eyes were not red. He smiled at Riana. "Shall we go?" he asked. The girl nodded, and they climbed into the limo and drove off down the quiet road.

When they reached he train station, Tom and Riana got out and put the baggage on a trolley. Valiant was thankfully silent. They wheeled the trolley to the barrier between platforms 9 and 10. With a quick glance to make sure no one was watching, they walked through the solid wall.

The Hogwarts Express was not that big of a deal. Riana got onto the train and put her trunks in an empty compartment, then got back off and headed to her father standing near a large family of redheads. She heard the one about her age telling his mother to leave him alone and inwardly smirked.

"I'll miss you," Riana said as she hugged her father goodbye. He held on tightly, and Riana saw that he had a few tears trickling down his face. "Be smart, and don't let others intimidate you. Also Riana, I want you to tell the school that I am here, and that you live with me. That's an order."

Riana nodded, a little confused, and kissed her father goodbye before getting back onto the train. She went back to her compartment and stared out of it as the train began to move. Tom had already gone.

Riana sighed, then looked up when the compartment door opened and someone walked in quietly. She smiled. It was Draco.

"Hello, Drake," Riana said softly. The boy nodded and sat down across from her, his eyes never leaving the mark on her right arm. "You put it back on visible, then?" he asked. The girl nodded and looked down at her own Dark Mark. It really was beautiful.

Another knock was heard and a tall boy with red hair and freckles walked into the room. "Malfoy," he growled out, but then he caught sight of Riana. His breathing hitched.

"Hello Beautiful, Do you remember me? I'm Ronald Weasley," he said, trying to act sexy.

Riana stifled a laugh as she stood up and walked over to Ronald. "Hello, I'm Riana Riddle. You're in my compartment," she smirked. Ron just had a moment to glance around before he was hurled out of the compartment by Riana's own hands. Draco whistled. "Wandless magic. Impressive." Riana smiled and nodded.

The girl went and sat back down across from Draco. They sat in a comfortable silence for a while. Draco began to read a book, while Riana took to staring out the window intently. They stayed like that for a few hours, until a little after noon the compartment door opened again and a smiling woman stuck her head in. "Anything off the trolley, dears?" she asked.

Riana jumped up and walked to the cart. She picked out a large heap of everything and brought it all into the compartment, then paid the woman two gold galleons, letting her keep the change. Draco watched this all in shock.

"Wow. I guess you're pretty hungry, huh?" he asked dryly, as the girl began popping Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans into her mouth. She grinned. "Kind of. I'm going to keep a lot of this for the school year, because you can't get this stuff at school and if I get my father to send me some, he could be tracked and located. He could put a spell on the owl to prevent that, but it takes awhile and I won't get any mail for at least a week. And I love candy." Draco just shook his head.

A few seconds later, there was a knock on their compartment door and a round-faced boy staring at Riana dejectedly walked into the room. His eyes were quivering with tears.

"I'm sorry, but have you seen a toad at all?" he asked. Draco opened his mouth to reply, but Riana beat him to it. "No, but how about I go look for it? I want to go explore the train, and you look beat." The boy gratefully entered the compartment and sat down where Riana had just been sitting.

"Thank you very much. My toad's name is Trevor," he added. Riana nodded, raising her hood on her cloak. It made her look older, and more dangerous. "You can eat some of those snacks. Oh, and could you please let Valiant out of his cage, Draco? He seems to be getting restless. I'll be back in a little bit." With that, Riana left the compartment, leaving two confused boys and one irritable cheetah cub behind.

Riana walked down the empty train corridor, glancing through various windows. The younger children were sitting in their seats stiffly, staring out the windows, while the older ones were standing up and chatting with their friends enthusiastically. Riana paused outside one compartment, which was filled with older boys dressed in Slytherin robes and chatting quietly. Making up her mind, she silently opened up the door and stepped into the compartment.

The boys turned quickly when they heard the compartment door slam. Glancing around, they spotted Riana, who was smiling at them shyly. She had pulled down her hood. One of the boys smiled back.

"What do you want, little girl?" he asked. His four companions snickered. Riana stopped smiling. "I want to know something. Do you all follow Voldemort?" The boys stopped laughing at once. All of them narrowed there eyes. "Why do you ask?" another boy questioned.

Riana sighed, then rolled up her right sleeve, showing off her splendid mark. "Because, he's my father!" she said with irritation.

The boys all gasped. The tallest one moved closer, reaching out to touch the mark. Riana yanked her arm away. "I wouldn't do that. That is, if you don't want ten Death Eaters pointing their wands at you." The boy pulled his arm back immediately.

The boy that seemed to be in charge glanced at the others, then nodded. Looking back at Riana, he kneeled down. "Yes, we follow Lord Voldemort, my lady. My father is Numain. These are the children of Granther, Smith, Polene, and Follew." The boys nodded in turn as their surnames were called. Riana smiled at each one.

"Excellent. I know them all. Polene in particular interests me. Your mother is very…different." The boy nodded.

Riana smiled at the boys again. "Well then, it will please you all to know that my father is indeed alive and strong, so you can tell your friends that little piece of information." The boys nodded and Riana left the room, shutting the door softly behind her.

Once in the corridor, she knelt and pulled out her wand. "Accio Trevor," she whispered. In a few seconds, she held a squiggling, fat toad in her hands. She smiled, then walked back to her compartment. When she entered it, she groaned.

I know, really bad place to stop, but I've written as much as possible to make up for not finishing The Storm and I'm beat! I've been on the computer for days putting this up! Anyways, please review, and I'll try to get the next chapter up sometime this week. Toodles!


	2. School Begins

Disclaimer: Read the first chapter.

Summary: Read the first chapter.

Warnings: Contains a pinch of Riana/Dean. I couldn't resist.

A Father's Pride

Riana looked into the compartment and saw Neville cowering in his seat while Valiant advanced on him, growling softly. Riana had to work hard to bite down a laugh.

"Valiant. Stop; that's enough," she demanded. Valiant obeyed and slunk under the seat, staring out with bright yellow eyes.

Riana turned to Neville and handed him the toad. "Here. I found him. Keep a tight hold on him from now, okay?" Neville nodded and muttered his thanks, then made to exit the compartment, but was held back by Riana.

"Wait. Could you stay?" Neville hesitated for a moment, then nodded and sat back down. Riana smiled. "Great. Your name is Neville, right?" Neville nodded. Riana patted his hand softly. He seemed really nervous.

"Don't worry; I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to ask you a few questions." Neville's eyebrows rose but he said nothing. Riana continued.

"Your parents were put under the Cruciatus curse when you were a baby and you were sent to live with your grandmother; am I right?" Neville nodded, paling slightly. "You don't like her at all. She pushes you too hard, and sometimes she hurts you physically." Neville whimpered, and his eyes shut. Still he nodded. For some reason, he felt like he could trust this girl and her friend.

"You would give anything to leave her, right?" Riana asked. Neville nodded once more. "Anything," he whispered. Riana's lips tightened, but she continued.

"What if I told you that I could take you away from your grandmother? What if I could bring you with someone who would care for you and love you? What would you say?" Neville's eyes widened, and he stared at Riana with baited breath. She continued even more quietly, now noticing that she was stepping on thin ice.

"Neville, do you honestly love the light side?" she asked. Neville bit his lip and looked down at the ground. Riana forced him to look up at her. "Do you know who hurt your parents?" she hissed. Neville pulled back quickly and nodded frantically. "Of course! Bellatrix Black! She tortured them to madness!" Riana shook her head.

"You're wrong. It was not Bellatrix. It was Kingsley Shacklebolt, a puppet of Dumbledore's. He did it to try and persuade the world that nobody was safe, and that everybody needed to look up to Dumbledore and believe in him."

"Dumbledore does not care how many people he hurts, as long as he can continue with his plans. The Longbottoms got in his way. They accused him of foul play and threatened to leave the light side. Whatever your aunt and Dumbledore have been telling you are all lies, Neville. Believe me."

Neville looked into Riana's eyes and saw only truth, compassion, and sadness. He decided that he would believe this girl. "I believe you. Thank you for telling me the truth, Riana." The girl nodded, then noticed that the train was slowing. Lucky for them, the three had already changed into their uniforms. Riana squeezed Neville's hand once more before the train came to a complete stop and students began rushing out. "We'll talk again later, okay?" she whispered.

Neville nodded, the left the room first. Draco came up beside Riana and grabbed her hand. Valiant, who had finally perfected the size-changing spell, shrunk himself to the size of a doll and jumped onto Riana's shoulder. The three exited the compartment and walked off the train.

A lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and Riana heard someone call, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" A very large man came into view, and Riana groaned. _'Not him,' _she thought to herself, recognizing Hagrid from her father's stories.

The half-giant guided the first years slowly but surely towards Hogwarts. About half an hour later, the students were at the front door. Hagrid raised a large hand and knocked three times on the door.

The door soon swung open. A tall, strict-looking witch in emerald-green robes gazed down on the students. Riana rolled her eyes.

"I will take them from here, Hagrid," the lady said. She pulled the door open wide. The entrance hall was huge, but not as big as Voldemort's front hall. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to see, and a huge marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.

They followed the woman into a side room that was cold and empty. The students crowded together, closer than they usually would, peering around nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," the woman said crisply. "The banquet will began momentarily, but first you all most be sorted." Riana tuned out the rest of what she said, only paying attention when she heard the woman leave the room. A low drone of talk began once the door had closed shut behind her.

Neville made his way over to Draco and Riana. "How exactly do they sort us?" he asked nervously. Riana laughed. "They just stick a hat on your head, and it tells you which house you belong in," she said softly, so no one else would hear. Neville sighed in relief.

A few seconds later, something happened that made Neville jump, Draco widen his eyes, and Riana sigh, deeply irritated. Several people behind her screamed. Riana turned and her jaw dropped. "What the…"

About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. They were pale and transparent, and paid no attention to the children below them.

They seemed to be arguing. A fat monk and a man with tights and a high ruff began punching each other, until a bored-looking man with a large stain on his shirt nudged them and pointed to the first years. A chubby lady with a wide smile grinned.

"Ooh, First years! I do hope some of you go into Hufflepuff! My old house you know."

"Move along now!" said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."

Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.

"Now form a line and follow me," McGonagall told the first years.

The students obeyed and followed the strict teacher out of the chamber, across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.

Riana already knew what it looked like, from her father's stories, but it was still very magnificent. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles floating in midair over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting.

Riana heard a girl behind her whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the school outside. I read about it in _Hogwarts: A History._" She smiled. That girl sounded like she had some brains, if she was a little bit annoying.

The girl looked at Professor McGonagall again, who silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool, she put a pointed wizard's hat. As all of the students watched, a rip near the brim of the hat opened up, and it began to sing.

(A/N: I'm not writing the song here.)

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and became quite still again.

"So all we do is try on the hat?" Neville asked Riana fervishly. "That sounds easy enough."

Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"

A blonde girl stumbled out of line and put on the hat. A moment's pause-

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right began cheering and clapping as Hannah joined them.

"Bones, Susan!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Boot, Terry!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Brown, Lavender!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table on the far left exploded with cheers.

"Bulstrode, Millicent!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Finnigan, Seamus!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Granger, Hermione!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Longbottom, Neville!"

"SLYTHERIN!" Everybody was silent. The Professors stared at each other in shock. Finally, the Slytherin table began to clap.

"MacDougal, Morag!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Malfoy, Draco!"

"SLYTHERIN!" the hat cried out immediately. Riana cheered.

There weren't that many people left now. "Moon"…, "Nott"…, "Parkinson"…,"Patil"…, "Patil"…, "Perks"…, then finally-

"Potter, Riana!"

Riana glared at McGonagall angrily. "My last name is not Potter, professor," she said icily. "It's Riddle. My father is Tom Riddle." The professors gasped as Riana daintily made her way up to the hat, sat down, and stuck the hat over her head.

"Hmm," said a small voice in her ear. "Nice talk out there. Oh, you are difficult. You have the courage of a Gryffindor and the heart of a Hufflepuff, but I don't think those would be good if your father heard that you had been placed in one of those."

"Well, you are definitely smart enough for Ravenclaw. You have the brains, and you would be very good there. But you are very cunning, very sneaky, and wonderful at wooing others. I have no regret with putting you in SLYTHERIN!" he shouted the last word so the whole hall could here.

Riana took off the hat and walked calmly over to the Slytherin table. The whole hall was silent. Everybody stared at the girl. Finally, when she reached her seat, the Slytherins began to clap and cheer wildly, closely followed by the Ravenclaws, and eventually the Hufflepuffs. The Gryffindors, however, remained silent.

Riana turned to watch the rest of the sorting. There were four people left.

"Thomas, Dean!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Turpin, Lisa!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Weasley, Ronald!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" Riana rolled her eyes and stroked Valiant, who was purring in her ear.

"Zabini, Blaise!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

They finished up the sorting. Professor McGonagall rolled up the piece of parchment and took the sorting hat away.

Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. "I would just like to say a few words before we begin our banquet. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

He sat down again. Riana wasn't sure whether to roll her eyes or groan. She did neither.

A few seconds later, the platters and bowls on the table filled with food, and Riana gathered a small amount of chicken and a very few amount of green beans. That was all she ate that night. Riana was a real girly-girl, despite what many thought. She was very self-conscious about her weight, and although her father _and _her mirror told her constantly that she was thin enough, she still worried.

When the meal was over, students started heading to their common rooms. The Slytherin first years followed a prefect named Nadia to their common room, down in the coldest dungeons. Riana didn't mind though. She was used to coldness.

Nadia stopped in front of a portrait of a man with a snake wrapped round his neck. Riana recognized him as Salazar Slytherin.

"Snake pit," Nadia whispered. Salazar nodded and the portrait lifted up, now leaning horizontically. The students stepped through the hole in the wall into the Slytherin common room.

The first thing Riana thought was that the room was comfy. The walls were alternating black and green, and silver carpets were spread across the cold rock floor in various places. A fire was burning cheerily in the fireplace. There were three bookshelves in the room, and one shelf holding parchment, quills, ink, and potions ingredients. Large, squishy chairs and sofas were all around the room, giving it a homey feeling. All in all, the room was elegant, yet comfortable.

Nadia gestured for the first years to be quiet, and they stopped talking. A few seconds later, Professor Snape appeared, robes billowing around him menacingly. "Good evening students," he said softly.

Out of all of the new Slytherins, Draco and Riana were the only ones who continued to meet Severus eye-to-eye. He smirked.

"My name is Professor Snape. I am the Slytherin head of house. I will not keep you from your beds for long."

"As Slytherins, it is your duty to be better than the rest of the students. You need to be smarter, quicker, and wittier. I do not like it when my students get in trouble." Snape's eyes rested on Draco and Riana, who both smiled sweetly back. He had to suppress a snort.

"If you have any questions or need to talk to someone, go to a fellow Slytherin. Slytherins are not just smart and powerful. They are caring, kind, honest, and friendly, just like everybody else. We however, are better at hiding it."

"A list of rules is on the Potions shelf. Before you read it, understand that I did not write it. Dumbledore did. Respect it. Even if you don't respect him." Severus mumbled the last part under his breath, took one last look at the new first years, and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

"How does he do that?" Neville asked out loud. Nadia laughed. She was very pretty, with skin the color of caramel, and dark eyes that twinkled with amusement. Her hair was thick and pulled into a long braid.

"That's something no one knows. Professor Snape is a mystery to us all. Now then, time for bed. Boys to the left, girls to the right. Tomorrow morning, meet me back here at seven o'clock. I'll guide you back to the Great Hall and give you some tips about the school."

When she had finished with her talk, the students headed to their rooms. Riana started to follow the others, but was stopped by Nadia. She motioned for Draco to go on without her, then followed Nadia over to a sofa. The older girl began whispering.

"You're Riana Riddle, right? Listen. There are rumors going around that Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort. Is that true?" Riana nodded slightly, and Nadia smiled. "Fantastic! Dumbledore killed my father, and my mother and I were waiting for the Dark Lord to come to power again. So he's here?" Riana nodded again.

"Okay then. Would you deliver this message to our lord? My mother, Halia Rowan, and her daughter would like to serve the Dark Lord, and we would do whatever it takes to see that he rules the world once and for all." Riana smiled. "Don't worry, I'll tell him. I'll have his response tomorrow morning, okay?" Nadia nodded, obviously relieved, and the two girls walked to their respective rooms.

When Riana entered the first year girls' room, she saw a large room similar to the common room, with five large four-poster beds against the walls, each with black and green curtains.

The other four girls were already there, and were sitting in on Susan's bed, talking. There was Pansy Parkinson, a pretty blonde with bright blue eyes. Then there was Hermione Granger, who had a lot of wavy brown hair. Riana decided to help her control her hair later.

Sitting beside her was Susan Bones, a gorgeous girl with scarlet hair in a French braid and dark blue, almost black eyes. And sitting at the end of the bed was Millicent Bulstrode, who was okay looking with black hair and brown eyes.

"Hello girls," Riana said cheerily, walking into the room with Valiant on her shoulders. "I'm Riana. Don't worry, I know who you all are." Pansy smiled. "Oh yeah, you're Riana Riddle, Tom Riddle's daughter. So, is it true? Is he the Dark Lord?" Riana nodded, and the girls all gasped.

"Wow," Hermione said thoughtfully. "So, from what I've heard, it's the Dark Lord against Dumbledore, right?" Riana nodded. "Exactly. Now, since you're my roommates, I just want to know something. Are you all for Voldemort or against him?"

Millicent and Pansy nodded. "We're for him," they said simultaneously. Susan looked uncomfortable. "I don't know. My aunt works for the Ministry on Dumbledore's side, and she's always telling me all these evil things that he's working against. But I don't believe it all, and I do not like some of the things that Dumbledore is doing." Riana accepted that answer with a nod, then turned to Hermione.

"I'm not sure. I haven't been in this world long enough to get a good enough picture." Riana nodded again. "Okay. Don't worry, I won't hurt you two. Hey, I want to join in on the talk. Just let me change, okay?" The girls nodded, and Riana stepped into the bathroom, bringing her black silk pajamas with her.

When Riana went into the bathroom and locked the door, she turned to the empty space in front of her. "Father…" she said softly.

A bright glow began to form in front of her. It grew larger and larger so that it looked like a large mass of fire. Finally, Tom Riddle stepped out of it and the glowing disappeared.

"Dad…" Riana said, and rushed into his arms. Tom laughed as he embraced his daughter. "How has your first day been, Riana?" The girl snorted. "Well, I informed everybody that you were my father, though I'm not sure if they believed me. I have a message for you. Halia Rowan and her daughter, Nadia, would like to see you come to power once more, and would do anything to see that you make it."

Tom smiled. "That's excellent. I remember Halia. She is a wonderful lady. So, who are your classmates?"

"Well, the other girls are Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, Hermione Granger (she's a muggle-born), and Susan Bones. The boys are Draco Malfoy, Vincent Crabbe, Neville Longbottom, Theodore Nott, and Blaise Zabini. Greg was put in Ravenclaw."

Tom nodded. "No surprise with those. But Susan Bones? I would of thought she'd be a Hufflepuff for sure." Riana shrugged. "Well, she seems okay to me. Now turn around, I've got to change."

Tom chuckled but obeyed, turning around so his daughter could have some privacy. When she was done, he turned back around and gave Riana a big hug. "Okay. I have to go back now. I'm lucky that I was able to be here for so long. Write soon, okay?" Riana nodded, and with a quick flash of light, her father was gone. Fire-Travel really was useful, but it took way too much energy out of you.

Riana sighed and unlocked the bathroom door. She walked back into the bathroom to find the girls running around the room, screaming, and a two-foot tall Valiant chasing them.

"Valiant, stop it right now!" Riana cried. The cheetah obeyed, and he shrunk down so he could leap into her arms. The girls stopped running around. "He's yours?" Hermione cried. Riana nodded. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that he would act like this. He won't do it again, I promise."

The girls all nodded and gathered on Susan's bed again. "It's okay," Millicent said. "Now, what were we talking about…"

And with that, the girls stayed up into the early hours of morning, getting to know each other.

The next morning, as asked, the first years met Nadia at seven in the morning in the common room. The older girl led them to the Great Hall, telling them about the castle and things to avoid on the way.

Riana stroked Valiant on her shoulder and rubbed her eyes for the third time that morning. Draco flashed her a worried glance. "Are you okay, Ri? You seem really tired." Riana smiled. "We stayed up late. Will you shock me, please?"

Draco nodded. He held up his pointing finger. A small ball of electricity gathered at the tip. He put it up to Riana's neck. The girl's eyes widened. "Okay, that woke me up!" she gasped. Draco smirked, and they continued walking.

When they reached the Great Hall, they headed over to the Slytherin table. Riana sat across from Draco. On her right was Susan, and on her left was Hermione.

"What do we have today?" Draco asked as Riana glanced at the schedules Professor Snape had just passed out. She frowned. "Transfiguration with the Gryffindors," she growled. Hermione smiled. "Come on. It can't be that bad, right?"

Hermione was right. It wasn't that bad. It was worse.

When the five first-year girls entered the Transfiguration room, laughing softly, they found a tabby cat staring at them from Professor McGonagall's desk. It seemed to be glaring. Riana smiled. "Hello, Professor," she said. The cat sniffed and looked away.

A few minutes later, after class was supposed to have started, Ronald and Seamus ran into the room, breathing heavily. "Good thing McGonagall isn't here, huh Seamus," Ron said happily.

The cat frowned and transformed into a tall, angry, Transfiguration teacher. "Well, Mr. Weasley? What's your excuse?" Ronald blushed. "We got lost, Professor," he muttered. McGonagall's frown deepened. "Well, should I transfigure one of you into a map? Then maybe you two wouldn't get lost."

The boys shook their heads and sat down at the two empty seats in the front of the room. Then he class began.

They were forced to take many boring notes and then each person was given a match and told to try and turn it into a needle. Riana and Draco both got it on their first try, Hermione on her second. Susan, Pansy, and Millicent each took a while but they got it.

The boys were a little slower. Eventually, Blaise got it, closely followed by Theodore and Vincent. But poor Neville just didn't seem to understand it. When he accidentally set fire to his match, McGonagall gladly took fifteen points from Slytherin and gave him a new one. Furious, Riana moved herself over to Neville.

"Look Neville. You can't just say the words. You have to imagine the match changing. Picture it in your head, the say the spell." Neville obeyed, and when he tried it, the match turned into a needle. He grinned. "Thanks Riana!" McGonagall just scowled.

The next few days, all the classes passed like that. Riana helped Neville out in classes until he got it.

Friday was a special day for the Slytherins. As they looked over their schedules, Riana and Draco grinned. "Potions!" they cried.

When they made their way down to the dungeons, they found the Gryffindors already standing there. Riana sneered at Ronald. "Hello Weasley. You managing in the big old castle? Your mommy isn't here to hug you now." Ron growled and lunged for Riana, but was pulled back by Draco and Blaise. "If you touch her…" Draco whispered. "We kill you," Blaise finished.

At that moment, Professor Snape came and let them into the room. They set up cauldrons and sat with two people at each one. Riana partnered with Neville, very worried about this class. Neville had already confessed his worst subject was Potions. She was determined not to let him be embarrassed in the one class that he was supposed to excel at.

Snape started off the class by calling roll. "Ah, yes. Weasley. I hope you can do better than your older brothers." Ron blushed a dark red. Riana giggled.

As Snape gave his usual beginning-year speech, which Riana had already heard, she zoned out and stared around the room. The Gryffindors were all staring at the ground in fear, while the Slytherins were smiling and whispering with each other.

"Weasley!" Snape called suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Ron looked stumped. He glanced around for help, and met Riana's sneering face. He scowled. "I don't know sir," he replied. "Maybe you should ask Riana here, as she seems to know everything."

Snape turned to Riana, who had on a straight face. "Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death, professor." Snape nodded. "Ten points to Slytherin," he said. "And five points from Gryffindor for your cheek, Mr. Weasley."

After that, they set to work mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. Snape swept around in his long black coat, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing all of the Gryffindors while giving points to the Slytherins for random things.

Riana could make this potion in her sleep. Neville, however, was new at potions. Probing into his mind slightly, Riana realized that the poor boy had never been allowed to practice magic before, and he was scared of messing up. Therefore, Riana took the time to explain various things to the boy, and to guide him in making the potion.

When they had finished, Snape came over and looked at it. It was perfect. "Excellent. Ten points to Slytherin," he said. Riana and Neville shared a grin before they heard a loud rumbling. Seamus and Ron's cauldron was bubbling over a sticky, gooey mess. Then, without warning, it exploded.

Globs of sizzling potion flew all over the room. Before it hit anybody, Riana flung up her arms. "Repigio!" she cried. All of the potion was frozen in midair. The students brought their arms down from their faces and sighed in relief.

Snape cleared the potion with a wave of his wand and turned to Ron. "Weasley! Do you realize what would have happen if it had hit somebody? Everybody's faces would have been covered in blisters within seconds! Five points from Gryffindor. Class dismissed."

The students walked out quickly, even Slytherins. When they had escaped from the dungeons, the students split up, Gryffindors heading up the stairs, Slytherins heading for their common room. They had the rest of the afternoon free.

"Well that was entertaining," Draco commented. Neville smiled at Riana. "Thank you for helping me. I'm kind of getting it now." Riana nodded, and they entered the common room.

The ten students made a beeline for the comfy couch in front of the fire. It could only hold three, so Riana expanded it to make it fit for five. The boys, however, got there first and spread out over the couch. "Thanks Riana," Theodore smiled.

Riana made a face good-naturedly and grinned. "Fine, but we get massages," she demanded. The boys nodded, and the girls plopped down in front of them. On the sofa, the boys sat in a row with Blaise on the left, then Draco, Theodore, Neville, and Vincent. Under them, the girls sat Pansy, Millicent, Susan, Riana, and Hermione.

"So what did you all think about class?" Hermione asked. Riana pouted. "I didn't get to pull a prank on the Gryffindors. I was really looking forward to that!" Everybody snorted.

"Well, I enjoyed it," Pansy said, and Millicent nodded. Riana groaned, and everyone looked over at her. She blushed. "Sorry. Neville gives good massages." The boy blushed.

"Hey, what's that?" Millicent pointed to a small piece of paper lying on the ground a few feet away. Riana pointed her finger towards it. "Accio paper!" she cried. It zoomed into her hand, and she looked over it. She frowned. "Here, listen to this," she said, and began reading it out loud:

"_**Gringotts Break-In Latest**_

_Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown._

_Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied that same day._

"_But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon._

Riana thought back. "That was the day that I was there! I didn't see much, though. Only Hagrid, getting something for Dumbledork."

Susan shrugged. "Well, I'm sure we'll hear more later," she concluded. The others nodded, and the girls went back to being pampered by the boys.

Riana knew that she would come across many enemies while at Hogwarts, but she never thought she would meet someone she hated as much as she hated Ronald Weasley. The boy was annoying and stupid, constantly digging into other people's business and saying rude comments. At least ten times a _day, _Riana wanted to do a Dark hex on him, but of course, if she didn't want to get in serious trouble yet, she couldn't.

The good thing was that the Slytherins only had Transfiguration and Potions with the Gryffindors. That is, until they saw a sign posted in the common room that made them all groan. Flying practice would be starting on Thursday- and Gryffindor and Slytherin would be learning together.

"I wonder if Dumbledore does this on purpose, just to bug us," Pansy grumbled Thursday morning. None of them were very happy, and _none _of them were talking to Riana right now. A third-year had teased her earlier for having to go to classes with the Gryffindors, and that poor boy still had cockroaches coming out of his teeth. Disgusting.

A loud screeching was heard as the mail came in. Two owls separated from the others and headed over to the Slytherin group. One was Draco's eagle owl, and the other was-

"Ebony!" Riana cried, as her father's black owl swooped down and landed in front of her. Ebony's red eyes were filled with love. She nipped Riana's finger affectionately as the girl opened up the package that her father sent. There was a letter and a sweet package to die for. Riana read he letter first:

_Riana,_

_How are you? I'm hoping that you're having a wonderful time at school. I'm sorry it took me this long to send anything, but you're smart. You understand._

_Enjoy these sweets, and be careful with a few of them. Your aunt bought them, and you know how she can be._

_If you would do me one favor, please don't get into too much trouble at school (like you'll even listen.) And don't you dare go onto another diet, young lady. You are thin enough as it is._

_Tell Draco that I said hello and I hope he's doing well. I'll write soon._

_Signed,_

_Your Father_

Riana smiled and dug into the candies. There were wizard and muggle treats, enough to last for a month. Knowing Aunt Bella, the woman expected them to be gone in a week and would send more. "Father sends his regards, Draco," Riana said, folding the letter. With a flick of her wrist, she sent the package to her bed in the common room.

A tall shadow covered up Riana, and she looked up to see the headmaster looking down at her. "Professor?" she asked calmly. Dumbledore stretched out his hand. "May I see that letter, Ms. Potter?" he asked.

"It's Riddle, Professor," Riana said icily. "And I think not. What my father writes to me is my own personal business. And no, he did not send a plan to burn down the whole school. He merely asked how I am doing." Dumbledore gazed at Riana for a long time, and she could feel him probing her mind. She stared straight at him and forced him out. When a surprised look came over his face, she grinned. "Goodbye, sir," she said. Dumbledore frowned but walked back up to the head table.

Blaise and Theodore were pawing through the treats. "Wicked! I've never even heard of half of these," Blaise exclaimed, holding up a package of Sour Skittles. Riana and Hermione giggled. "Those are muggle candies, silly," Riana said. "Try a few." The boys opened a package and popped about ten into their mouths at a time. All of their faces puckered and the girls had to bite down laughs. "It said it was sour, stupid," Riana addressed to all of the boys. They nodded weakly.

A few seconds later, a very tired-looking brown owl came flying overhead. Everybody stared as it flew to Neville and dropped down in front of him, clearly beat. Susan made a clucking noise. "Poor thing," she said. Neville nodded as he pulled a package off of the bird's foot and unwrapped it. His face fell. "It-it's a Remembrall," he said, pale cheeks reddening.

Riana just shook her head. What kind of family would send their child that? It was totally embarrassing!

"Just forget about it, Neville," Millicent said. Hermione nodded. "Come on, it's time for class," she said. The Slytherins got up from the table and headed to their next class.

At three-thirty that afternoon, Riana, Draco, and the other Slytherins hurried down the front steps onto the ground for their first flying lesson. It was a clear, breezy day, and the wind blew their hair behind them as the marched down to where they would b practicing.

The Gryffindors, by some miracle, were already down there, and were already standing by the nicest-looking brooms. They shot the Slytherins smug looks as the boys grumbled and grabbed brooms, leaving the girls with the nastiest and most torn-up brooms.

Riana let the other girls have the slightly better brooms, and she took the ugliest of them all, the one on the end of the line of the Gryffindors. It was next to a tall boy, with chocolate skin and warm brown eyes. He smiled at Riana. "Hi, I'm Dean Thomas," he said softly. Riana stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "Riana Riddle," she said, turning back to face the front. Madam Hooch, their instructor, had just arrived.

"Okay everyone, stick out your right hand over your broom and say, 'UP!'" The students obeyed. Riana's flew into her hand without her saying a word, as did Draco's. Pansy and Millicent got it on their second try. The other Slytherins eventually got it, though Neville and Hermione took longer.

Madam Hooch then showed them how to mount their brooms without falling sliding off the end, an walked up and down the rows correcting their grips. Riana laughed openly when she heard the woman tell Weasley he'd been doing it wrong for years.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard," said Madam Hooch. "Keep your broom steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle- three- two-"

But Neville, very nervous and jumpy, pushed off before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.

"Come back, boy!" she shouted, but Neville was rising straight up quickly. Riana saw look at the ground in fear, fifty feet high. She saw him slip and in horror, she saw him start to fall back to the ground.

"Oh my God!" she cried, and rose up quickly. She flew up to where Neville was falling, and stretching out her hand, she just managed to grab his wrist before he plunged to his death.

The Slytherins all cheered as Riana brought Neville back to the ground, then got off of her broom. She hugged the boy gently. "Listen. The next time you panic, keep both feet on the ground, okay?" Neville nodded, then winced. "I think I broke my wrist when I fell. I smashed it against my broom," he said.

Madam Hooch hurried forward. "Come on, boy. Off to the hospital wing." She turned to the other students and glared. "You all leave those brooms where they are or you'll be expelled before you can say, 'Quidditch,'" she threatened. Then she and Neville hurried up to the castle.

No sooner were they out of earshot than Weasley began to laugh. "Did you see his face, the great lump." Seamus and a few others joined in.

"You leave him alone, Weasley, or I swear I'll knock your head off," Riana threatened quietly. The Slytherins passed each other fearful glances. The girl was serious.

"What's this," Weasley exclaimed, darting forward and picking something up from the ground. It was Neville's Remembrall. Riana glared, and her eyes flashed a deep red. "That's it. Agonisa Organ-"

"Riana!" The girl turned quickly and saw Professor Snape striding towards her. He looked angry, and when he reached the students he frowned down on them all. "I have never seen such pathetic behavior in students before. Twenty points from Gryffindor. Riana, come to me." The girl nodded, shook her fist at Weasley, and headed off after Snape.

The two walked back up to the castle, through the front doors, and down to the dungeons. When they were in his office, he whirled around and smiled at Riana. "Well, Ms. Potter? I think that you have just become Slytherin's seeker."

"You're JOKING!" The outburst caused many people to turn and stare at Draco, but he waved his hand to show that he was okay. They just shrugged and went back to their own conversations.

"Wow Riana. I mean, you said you were good, but I didn't know you were _that _good," Blaise said, very impressed. Riana smiled.

"Um, Riana? Could I talk to you?" It was Dean Thomas, the boy from earlier. He looked nervously at the ten Slytherins who turned suddenly to him. Riana stared at him for a moment, then nodded. "Sure. I'll meet you all in the common room later, guys."

Riana followed Dean out into the Great Hall. She turned to the boy. "Okay, what did you want to talk about?" she asked him. He rubbed his hands. "Well, I heard the other boys talking. They said that they were going to send you a letter. It would tell you to meet them for a fight. I just thought I would warn you in case you get a mysterious letter soon."

"Thanks, Thomas. But why are you telling me this?" Dean smiled wryly. "Well, I don't like the others and how they feel about Slytherins. I mean, you all can't be completely evil, right?" Riana smiled also. "Right," she said, and laughed.

Dean suddenly looked uncomfortable. "Riana? I was wondering about something. Do we have to be enemies? I mean, can't we be friends? I don't have many friends here. Everyone thinks I'm weird." Riana thought for a moment. "You do know who my father is, right?" she asked. Dean nodded, and Riana smiled. "Okay then. We can be friends." With that, the two separated, Riana heading to the dungeons, Dean heading up the stairs.

The next morning, a school barn owl flew in and landed in front of Riana. The girl did not look surprised, and she took the letter and opened it, giving her bacon rinds to the owl. She read it and grinned, then looked up to see Weasley and Seamus staring intently at her. She nodded to them, and they smiled evilly.

"What's that, Riana?" Neville asked. Riana folded up the paper. "An invitation to a wizard's duel, for tonight in the trophy room. You want to come? I need a second." Neville shook is head hurriedly.

"I would probably mess it all up! Why don't you take Draco?" The blond boy shook his head. "I have a bunch of work that's due tomorrow. Sorry, Ri." The others also shook their heads, and Riana smiled at Neville. "Looks like you're coming with me, dude." Neville groaned.

That night, at half-past eleven, Riana and Neville got up from the group sitting in front of the fire and headed out of the common room. They crept along the corridors softly, making no noise.

When they reached the trophy room, the two crept inside. Ron and Seamus were already there. Riana smiled at them. "Let me guess. I'm going up against you, Weasley." The redhead nodded and brought up his wand. "Expelliarmous!" he cried out. Riana dodged the spell easily.

"Nice, Weasley. But this isn't a child's game. Aquavio!" A long stream of water flew out of the girl's wand and wrapped itself around Weasley's neck, beginning to choke him. He grabbed at the water, but his fingers went right through.

"Let him go!" Seamus cried. Riana shrugged. "Okay. Stop." The water dropped to the ground, and Weasley took deep, gasping breaths. "You're a murderer," he cried. "I'm getting out of here!" He and Seamus ran from the room, knocking a few trophies to the ground.

Riana made a noise of disgust. "Nice going, Weasley," she muttered under her breath. She went to pick up the trophies, and placed them carefully on their pedestals. When she picked one up, she gasped.

"Neville! Come look at this!" Neville hurried over and gasped. It was a shiny plaque, stating that Tom Marvolo Riddle had been given an award for outstanding services to the school. "Wow Riana. Your father must have done something major," Neville said softly.

Riana nodded and carefully put the plaque on its stool. Then she quickly put the rest away, grabbed Neville's hand, and pulled him out of the room.

"Look Neville," Riana said. "When we get back to the common room, just tell everybody that we battled Ron and won, okay? Nothing about the plaque." Neville nodded, and when they reached the common room, he did exactly what Riana said.

About a week later, on Saturday morning, Riana woke up extra early, pulled Valiant off her chest, and took a shower. She put on a pair of black dark denim jeans and green halter-top, with a thin silk black sweater over it, unbuttoned, and a pair of black sneakers with green stripes on the sides. Then she crawled over to Hermione's bed and shook the girl awake.

"Mmm…what is it, Ri?" Hermione mumbled as she sat up. Riana smiled. "Come on. I'm giving you a makeover."

She led Hermione over to a chair a sat her down. Then she pointed her wand at the girl's nightclothes. They changed into a pair of blue jeans and a dark purple long-sleeved sparkly shirt, with some white sneakers.

"Now, stay still," Riana said, as she opened a large make-up box that had just magically appeared and got to work. First, she took a wet towel and washed he other girl's face. Then she moved over to the brunette's hair. It was bushy, that was for sure, but not unmanageable.

Riana grabbed a magical brush that would not break and added lotion to the girl's hair as she brushed. She pulled it through Hermione's hair until it was nice and straight. Then she grabbed a flatiron and made her hair shiny and flatter. She whistled. "Wow 'Mione, look at all of this beautiful hair!"

By now all of the other girls were up and dressed. They stood around Hermione and Riana as the latter transformed the other's hair. When it was straight and flat, she combed through it, then curled the tips inward and put some hair spray in it. Then she started on Hermione's face.

She carefully picked out a shade of dark purple eye shadow and put a light layer on, just enough to be noticed. Then she curled the brunette's eyelashes, brushed and plucked her eyebrows, put on a light layer of blush on her cheeks, and stepped back. "All done!" she said.

"Wow!" the other girls said in unison. Pansy laughed. "Hermione, you're a babe!" she cried. Hermione blushed.

Riana fixed her own hair so that it was in a bun, with a circle of hair coming out around it. It looked very French, even slightly better than Hermione's new look, but that was probably because Riana was gorgeous.

"Let's go, girls," Riana said, and they walked out of the room, out of the dungeons, and headed to the Great Hall.

When they reached the Great Hall, everybody turned to the girls and gasped. "Is that Hermione?" some boys whispered among themselves. "Yeah! And look at Riana! She looks awesome!" others hissed. The girls just smiled. They went and sat down at the table, where the boys were already eating. Theodore looked up at Hermione, choked on his eggs, and had to be pounded on the back by Draco.

"Wow, Hermione. You look awesome. You too, Riana," he said. They nodded and began to eat.

As the owls flooded into the hall as usual, everybody stared at a group of six large black owls carrying a long, thin package. They dropped in front of Riana, and the girl raised her eyebrows but pulled the string off of their legs. When they were free, they got up and left again.

There was a card with the package. Riana opened it first, and was glad that she did, because it read:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE

It contains your new Nimbus Two Thousand, but I don't want everybody knowing you've got one or else I'll be in trouble with my students. Meet Marcus Flinch tonight at the Quidditch fields at seven o'clock for your first training session. The rest of the team will be there.

Your Uncle

P.S. Both of your fathers were Seekers at school.

Riana grinned. "Awesome!" she cried, and gave the letter to Susan to read. She whistled. "That's great. Wow, you get to be on the team. You're amazing, Riana."

Riana grinned. "Thanks. Hey, can I ask for a favor? Can you take this down to our room for me? I'll pay you back, I promise." Susan nodded and took the package. "I'll take it in a few minutes. Whatever you're about to do though, make sure it doesn't lose us any points, okay?"

Riana nodded. "Yes mother," she said, then got up and left the room before Susan's fist met her head.

Riana walked out of the building, following the boy she had seen just leave. She found him by the Great Lake, staring into the water. She silently walked up beside him. "Hi," she said.

Dean jumped slightly and turned. He relaxed. "Oh, it's just you." Riana smiled.

"What's wrong, Dean?" she asked quietly. He sighed. "Oh nothing. Just that Weasley and the others all hate me, I'm failing my classes, and my mom wrote to me saying that my little brother's in the hospital because he got hit by a car while he was walking across the street!" When he finished, he was shouting, but quieted again and looked back to Riana. "Sorry," he muttered. She shook her head.

"Don't be. Now, what exactly happened?" Dean sighed again. "Well, last night, Weasley and the others were making fun of you, saying how you wouldn't last a second in a fistfight against them. I told them to shut up, and…well, I've never been a great fighter." He turned slightly and Riana could see the two dark bruises on his face, one around his right eye, the other on his left cheek.

"Oh my gosh," she moved closer and touched the bruises. Dean flinched slightly, and she pulled away.

"Plus, I'm failing every class. Professor Snape is always criticizing me, and McGonagall, (the ugly hag,) is always embarrassing me in front of everyone."

"Then I got a letter this morning saying that my brother, Jonathon, is in the hospital. He's only three, Riana. He can't survive that." Dean did not cry, but the sad tone in his voice was much worse.

Riana was shocked. He had to go through all of that? She could only think of one thing to do, and she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around him in a hug. He stiffened, then let it all go and sobbed softly. Riana let him, rubbing his back occasionally, until he was done.

After a while, he pulled away and rubbed his eyes, blushing slightly. Riana said nothing, just pulled out her wand and waved it. His face cleared up, and his clothes were free of tearstains.

"Thanks," he said. "I-I needed that." Riana nodded. "Now listen. I can't do anything about your brother. But I can help with your grades, _and _I can teach you some moves for the next time you get into a fight. Follow me." Dean nodded, and he followed the girl back to the castle.

"Um, where are we going?" he asked when they entered the dungeons. Riana laughed. "You said Professor Snape is bothering you, right? Well, I'm going to tell him to stop, and I'm going to help you with potions. Now come on."

They reached Snape's office and Riana knocked lightly. It was opened after a few seconds by Severus, who looked slightly irritated. That look disappeared when he saw Riana. "Yes?" he asked.

"Dean said that you kept embarrassing him. Could you please stop it?" Riana looked up at him with an expectant look on her face. Snape nodded. "Of course. I'm very sorry, Mr. Thomas." Dean nodded.

"We're going to be using the lab for a bit. I'll clean everything up, I promise." Snape nodded, and Riana and Dean headed into the next room.

"Wow, Riana. That was strange." Riana shrugged. "Being the Dark Lord's daughter has its perks. Anyways, grab a cauldron and bring it over to this table. You're going to be making a Protein Potion." Dean's eyes widened. "But that's a third-year potion! I won't be able to do that!" Riana glared at him, and he wisely shut up.

"Now, turn the burner on low and add one unicorn strand and a cup of white horse blood." Riana guided Dean in the steps for making the potion, and when he was finished, Riana looked at the potion. It was a pale blue color. "Perfect," Riana said, and bottled up the potion. She put it on Professor Snape's desk, then cleared up the mess they had made with a wave of her wand. "See, you can make the potions when you don't have anybody bothering you."

"Okay, now we go to my common room," Riana said. Dean stopped short beside her. "Why? I'll be killed in there!" Riana rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to help you with some of your troubles in bookwork, so I have to get my books. And they will not kill you. Now stop being a baby and promise me you won't show anybody where our common room is." Dean muttered an agreement, and followed Riana to the portrait. "Raspberries," she said softly, and the portrait moved.

When Riana and Dean entered the common room, everything went quiet. Dean looked slightly nervous, but Riana just turned to everyone else and put on her most evil glare. "He and I are going to be working in my room. Don't bother us. And I don't want to hear a word about him being a Gryffindor. Does everybody understand?" Everyone nodded, and Riana steered Dean into her bedroom.

"Now, let's see. Why don't we start with Transfiguration. What are you having trouble with?" For the next two hours, Riana helped Dean with some problems he was having in class, checked the homework due on Monday, and gave him study tips.

When they were done, it was twelve o'clock and both children were hungry. They headed up to the Great Hall. "I'll give you fighting tips later," Riana whispered as they entered the room. They split up and headed to their respected tables. Riana sat down among her friends and took some fried chicken. "So how have you all been?" she asked.

The others grinned. "So, what did you and Dean do the whole morning?" Millicent asked nonchalantly. Riana choked on her chicken. Draco laughed as he pounded her back.

"What did you all think we were doing? I was helping him with his studies. That's all, I swear!" The others looked dubious but nodded wisely, knowing the consequences if they went against Riana.

The rest of the afternoon, Riana went onto the Quidditch pitch and flew around it, thinking about random things. At five to seven, she heard someone under her laugh and looked down.

Marcus Flinch was standing there. He was a fifth-year Slytherin, and captain of their Quidditch team. The rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team stood behind him. There was Adrian Pucey, a tall, black fourth-year. Then there were three brown-haired girls standing together, Michelle Dawson, Julie Grendal, and Erica Meyre. All three were fifth-years. And finally, there was David Foley, a blonde fourth-year boy.

"Come down here, Riddle!" Flint cried. Riana obeyed, steering her broom back to the grass and jumping off smoothly. "Hi," she said.

Marcus Flint smiled. He was good-looking, with black hair and dark eyes. "Okay, this is the team. We've got Michelle, Julie, and Erica, three Chasers. Then there are Adrian and David, the Beaters. I'm the Keeper. And of course, you're trying out for Seeker."

Riana nodded. "Well, you saw me fly. What did you think about that?" Michelle grinned. Her blue eyes held kindness. "I think she's pretty good, Flint. Let's see how well she is at catching the Snitch." Marcus nodded and put his hand into his pocket. A few seconds later he pulled out a small, golden ball with wings, about the size of a walnut. "Mount your broom," He instructed.

Riana obeyed and raised about a foot into the air. Marcus let the Snitch free. "Go," he said. Riana went after the Snitch. Ten seconds later, she had grabbed it.

Marcus made her try again and again, and each time she got it in under half a minute. The Slytherins cheered. "I think we have found a Seeker," Flint said finally. Riana grinned.

Well, how was that? I am going to try and get the third chapter out by Christmas. Is anybody going to do my story challenge that I put up on my homepage? Anyways, today is a snow day in my city and I spent it working on this. How sad am I?

Also, I'm wondering who else I should pair with Riana. Should there be:

Draco

Neville

Dean

OC

Blaise

All or some of the above

Review and tell me soon, so I can add them to the next few chapters.

Review Responses:

korrd: Draco Malfoy is friendly when among friends, but more cold when he's in public. And I'm not sure if this will be Draco/Riana. Maybe in the VERY end, like during seventh year(yes, I am making sequels for the rest of the school years.) I'm going to pair Riana with several different people over time, so you need to wait and see.

gothic vampyre: I'm happy that you love it. I'll get reviews out ASAP, I promise.

feather-kufu: Thanks! I'm very happy that you enjoy it. I hate Ron, so I'm going to make him embarrass himself a LOT!

Frankie and Avery.dont ask: I will, I will, I will!

Helen: Thanks! I just love stories with Harry as a girl.

Curalium Lacrimo: I'm sorry, I got your review after I did the sorting hat scene. But I did put Hermione, Susan, and Neville in there with her. I've always liked those characters.

Everyone else who reviewed: Thank You! ;-)


	3. Holiday Mysteries

Disclaimer: Read the first chapter.

Summary: Read the first chapter.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry! I know I would say that I would get it out quicker, but my computer's Internet went out on me! For a month! I was so mad! Oh well. I made this chapter slightly longer. I think there are only two or three more chapters for this story, since I make the chapters so long. Then I can start on the sequel! Yeah!

A Father's Pride

Perhaps it was because she was so busy, what with Quidditch practice three nights a week and lessons with Dean, plus her regular homework, all piled on top of each other, but Riana could hardly believe it when she realized that she'd already been at Hogwarts for two months. While she still missed Riddle Manor, Hogwarts was starting to become familiar to her. And although her classes were still impossibly easy, they were easier to deal with now.

On Halloween morning, they woke to the delicious smell of baking pumpkin wafting through the corridors. Even better, Professor McGonagall took five points from Gryffindor for Ronald being late again.

In class that day, Gryffindors and Slytherins were paired together and told to work on Charms, as Professor Flitwick had informed McGonagall that most children were failing his class. They practiced the levitating spell. Riana was paired with Seamus, and they didn't talk much if they could help it.

Poor Hermione had been placed with Weasley, and she was suffering. She had gotten the spell quickly, but Weasley was horrible at Charms. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his arms like a windmill. Hermione groaned. "You're saying it wrong, you moron. Make the 'gar' longer."

Riana was sitting right behind them, and she laughed softly, they gasped when she felt her arm begin to get hot. She looked down to find the quill on fire, and it catching onto her robe. Seamus was trying to put it out with his hat frantically.

"SEAMUS YOU MORON! HOW DO YOU SET A QUILL ON FIRE?" she screamed. Everybody turned to the two as Riana used her wand to put out the fire and to conjure a new feather. Draco and Blaise sighed. "Only a Gryffindor," Theodore muttered.

Weasley and Hermione were still arguing. "You do it then, if you're so smart!" Ron cried out. Hermione flicked her wand. "Wingardium Leviosa." The feather rose four feet into the air, and the Slytherins all clapped.

Ron sneered. "No wonder nobody likes you, you filthy mudblood. You're just a show-off brat." Hermione's eyes filled with tears, and she grabbed her stuff and ran from the room, ignoring McGonagall's calls.

Riana turned to Weasley and slapped him across the face. "Ronald Weasley! Why the hell did you do that? When I get my hands on you, you're in big trouble, you disgusting boy!" Then she too collected her stuff and rushed from the room.

Riana headed to the closest bathroom, and entered quietly. "'Mione? Are you okay?" She head a few sniffles in reply, and followed them to a closed stall. She knocked on it.   
"Go away!" Hermione cried. Riana sighed.

"'Mione, please come out. Weasley's just a stupid prick, don't listen to anything he says." Hermione only wailed again.

"Hermione, I'm begging you. Please come out. It's Halloween. Don't be sad." Hermione didn't say anything. Riana gave up. "Come out when you fell better, okay?" She heard a mumbled response and left the bathroom.

"How is she?" Susan asked, when Riana met up with her friends. She shrugged. "She'll manage. She wouldn't come out. I told her to come when she was ready."

Hermione didn't turn up for the next class and wasn't seen all afternoon. On their way down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast, Riana and Susan overheard Parvati Patil that Hermione had locked the girl's bathroom and wouldn't come out. Riana and Susan got very worried when they heard that, but a moment later, they had entered the Great Hall, where the Halloween decorations put Hermione out of their minds.

Thousands of black bats fluttered around the ceiling and swooped over the tables, making the candles in the floating jack-o'lanterns stutter.

The feast appeared suddenly on the golden plates, as it had at the start-of-term banquet. Riana was just helping herself to a baked potato when Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the hall, his turban askew and terror on his face. Everyone stared as he reached Professor Dumbledore's chair, slumped against the table, and gasped, "Troll- in the dungeons- thought you ought to know."

He then sank to the floor in a dead faint.

There was an uproar. Riana looked up at the Head Table and saw that Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore had disappeared. She rolled her eyes. 'Probably going to look for the troll,' she thought to herself, then stood up on her seat. Raising her wand into the air, she let loose several large purple firecrackers. Everybody turned to her.

"Listen to me! Prefects need to lead their students to the common rooms. Do it quickly and quietly. If you meet something that gives you trouble, stun it. Now go!" The prefects, for some reason listening to this girl, gathered up their students and left the room.

Riana turned to Draco and Blaise. "Let's go. We're getting Hermione." They nodded and followed her as she slipped away among a group of Ravenclaws, escaped from the hall, and sprinted upstairs.

"I know that something is going to happen in that bathroom," she said. They reached the bathroom and his in the shadows while they waited for something. A few minutes later, a disgusting stench reached their noses and all three students had to cover their face with their arms.

They soon heard it. A low grunting, and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet. It suddenly appeared around the corner, and Riana had to work hard to keep her baked potato down.

It was a horrible sight. Twelve feet tall, its skin was a dull, granite gray, its great lumpy body was like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

Riana raised her wand to stun it. "Stupe-" she whispered, but was stopped when Blaise pulled her arm down. She whirled to him angrily. "What?" she whispered crossly.

"It might be immune to that spell. Its body is so thick, it could bounce right off it." Riana nodded and turned back to the troll, only to find that it wasn't there now. "What the…"

Then a scream from the bathroom made all three of their bodies stiffen. "It's in the bathroom!" Draco cried miserably. Riana rolled up her sleeves. "Well then, let's go get it." They cautiously walked into the bathroom.

Hermione was shrinking against the wall opposite, looking as if she was about to faint. The troll was advancing on her, knocking off sinks as it went.

"Distract it!" Riana said desperately. The boys grabbed pipes and began throwing them at the troll, yelling out some very rude phrases. The troll stopped and turned around, confused by all the noise.

Riana too this opportunity to run forward and grab Hermione's arm. "Get up, 'Mione! We can't stay here. We'll get killed!" Hermione didn't budge, only stared at the troll in shock as it advanced on the boys.

Riana turned at the troll and in desperation, said the first spell that came to her head. "Wingardium Leviosa!" The troll's club flew out of his hand and hovered above his head. Riana let it hover for a few minutes, then dropped it on top of its owner. The troll crumpled to the ground, knocked out.

Riana and Hermione got up. Both were shaking and out of breath. The boys came forward. Draco wrapped Riana in a hug to calm her down, while Blaise did the same to Hermione. "Thanks, you guys," Riana muttered.

A sudden slamming and loud footsteps made the four of them look up. They hadn't realized what a racket they had been making, but of course, someone downstairs must have heard the crashes and the troll's roars. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come bursting into the room, closely followed by Snape, with Quirrell bringing up the rear.

Quirrell took one look at the troll, let out a faint whimper, and sat quickly down on a toilet, clutching his heart.

Snape bent over the troll. McGonagall was looking at the four Slytherins, the boys mainly. Her mouth was drawn into a thin white line. "What on earth happened here?" she asked angrily.

Draco and Blaise started to answer, but Hermione stopped them. "These three saved me, Professor. Draco and Blaise distracted the troll, while Riana knocked it out." The black-haired girl smiled faintly.

Snape stood up straight. "Well then, I believe that would be ten points each to Slytherin. Wouldn't you agree, Minerva?" He led her out of the room, shaking his head at the stuttering words coming out of her mouth.

Riana stepped closer to Quirrell. "Professor? Are you okay?" Quirrell nodded shakily. "Th-thank you for asking though, my dear." He stared down at her front, and realizing something disgusting, Riana moved far back quickly

"Well, we'll just leave now. Goodnight professor." The four children hurried out of the room quickly, Blaise kicking the troll once more for good measure. They reached the hallway and Riana grimaced. "That nasty, perverted man! He was staring down my shirt!" Draco laughed softly. "You know what, I think you've had a full Halloween, Riana. And you look tired."

Hermione turned to her friend. "He's right, Ri. You look really beat. When we get back, go to bed, okay?" Riana rolled her eyes but nodded, deciding not to argue. "Alright, but on one condition. Draco, can I have a piggy-back ride?" Draco smiled softly and nodded, letting Riana crawl onto his back and wrap her arms around his neck.

They continued down to the dungeons. A few minutes before they reached the common room, Draco felt Riana's hold lesson slightly and looked back. The girl had fallen asleep. He smiled.

They entered the common room, glancing around to find it empty, and headed to their rooms. Draco came into the girls' room and gently laid Riana in bed. He took off her shoes and sweater, then pulled the covers up comfortably around her. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, then shook his head and headed to the door. "Goodnight girls," he called out when he left, shutting the door behind him. "Goodnight Draco," four girls chorused. When he left, Susan giggled. "It looks like Draco's gotten a crush on Ri," she whispered. The other girls giggled, changed into their pajamas, and went to bed.

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost.

The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Riana would be playing her first match after weeks of training: Slytherin versus Gryffindor. If Slytherin won, they would move up into second place in the House championship.

Nobody had seen or heard of Riana playing, besides the Slytherins. Marcus Flint had warned everybody that if word got out, he would find the traitor and drop him or her one hundred feet in the air from a broomstick. And they believed him. You never knew what Flint would do.

Riana was having a pretty good time at Hogwarts. She couldn't do some things that she wanted to(like kill Dumbledore, for instance,) but she was okay for now. She loved all of her friends. Susan was smart and witty, Millicent was cool and confident, Pansy was funny and fun-loving, and Hermione was serious, yet joyful, and had a sarcastic streak in her.

Then the boys…Neville was sweet and considerate, Theodore was like Hermione, Blaise was surprising and fun, Vincent was smart and level-headed, and Draco was…well, Draco was Riana's closest friend, even closer than the girls. She didn't need words to describe him.

The day before the Quidditch match, Riana, Draco, and Hermione were out in the freezing courtyard with a free afternoon, and the brunette had conjured them up a bright blue fire that could be carried around in a jam jar.

They were standing to their backs to it, getting warm, when Snape crossed the yard. Riana noticed at once that he was limping. She moved from her friends and ran over to him, stopping in front of him. He looked down at her with a slightly irritable look on his face. "Ms. Riddle?" he asked.

"Why are you limping Professor?" Riana asked him bluntly. He sighed. "Come up to my room in twenty minutes. Bring Draco and Granger, if you wish." Then he continued on his way.

Riana ran back to the others. "Come on, we've got to go to Professor Snape's room," she muttered. They extinguished the fire and ran to the castle.

When they reached Snape's office, he called for them to come in before they had knocked. Riana walked in and rushed to her teacher. "What have you done this time, to hurt yourself, Uncle Sev?" Hermione's eyes widened slightly, but both she and Draco smiled as Riana fussed over Snape's wound. Pulling up his pant leg, they could see that his right leg was very mangled, as if something had tried to take a bite out of it.

"What's she doing?" Hermione whispered to Draco, watching as a blue light shone from Riana' hands and she put it over Snape's leg. "Riana has healing powers," Draco whispered back.

Riana worked on the wound quickly and efficiently. After a few minutes, she had Snape's wound tied up nicely, with all the blood gone and only a few scratches around the bandages to show anything. "See? What would you do without me?" she asked her Potions teacher teasingly. "Now then, what did that to you?" Snape sighed.

"Okay, all three of you all need to sit down." He waved his wand and three very comfy chairs appeared. The children sat down.

"Now then, do you all know anything about the Sorcerer's Stone?" he asked them.

About half an hour later, the three exited Snape's room with a lot more on their minds. "So Dumbledore has the Sorcerer's Stone hidden in Hogwarts. Many teachers have put spells around it so no on can steal it. There's also a large three-headed dog named 'Fluffy' guarding it. And apparently, Voldemort wants it. Well this is strange." Riana nodded to Draco's summary. "Only thing is, We don't know why he wants it. He hasn't told me anything about it. Strange."

"I think I know why. The stone is said to hold the Elixir of Life, which can keep you alive for centuries, can't it? Maybe Voldemort wants it, so he can become even more powerful than he is now, and he can defeat Dumbledore."

Riana swore. "Why does he do this? If he fails, then he's going to become weak. And I'm not letting that happen. I'm going to the Owlery, okay? I'll meet up with you at dinner." Then she broke apart from her friends and ran up the stairs, making her way to the Owlery.

When Riana reached the tower, she entered the room and looked around. There were owls perched on the rafters, some of them sleeping, and a few flying around near the ceiling.

Riana walked over to a corner, where there was a shelf of ink, quills, and parchment. She grabbed some parchment and a quill, then turned back around and came face-to-face with Seamus Finnagin.

The Irish boy blushed and backed away quickly. "Here," he muttered, handing her an ink bottle. Riana took it, staring at the boy. "Thanks," she said cautiously. A few seconds passed and they just stood there.

"Where's Weasley?" Riana finally asked. Seamus rolled his eyes. "Terrorizing some Hufflepuffs, I guess. I don't really talk to him that much anymore."

Riana's fine eyebrows furrowed. "Why not?" she asked. Seamus sighed. "Well, at first I became his friend because I didn't know anybody here, I was a half-blood, and I needed someone that I could talk to. Then he acted nice to me, making me think that we were good friends. But then I got a detention yesterday from Snape for something that Ro-Weasley did, and he didn't even say anything. He let me get in trouble. Later, he said that I'm stupid and that I don't deserve to be his friend. So here I am."

Riana thought this all over. Poor boy. "I'm sorry," she said. Seamus shrugged. "Now I just have to find Dean and beg him to forgive me for being rude." Riana grinned. "That shouldn't be so hard. Just say that Weasley's an ugly git."

Seamus laughed, then moved back so Riana could have space to write her letter. He stood in silence and watched as her hand flew over the parchment, writing with a curvy, elegant script. "Wow. Nice," he said when she was done. Se smiled briefly and looked around at the owls, finally picking a tawny one and tying the letter to its foot. She stroked its feathers softly, whispered something in its ear, and let it fly away.

"So when's your detention?" she asked, putting the stuff back on the shelf. Seamus checked his watch. "At seven o'clock. In four hours. He told me that I'm going to be sharing it with the three Ravenclaws that were involved. Fun."

Riana laughed. "Well, good luck," she said, then left the Owlery. She rushed back down to Snape's room, ignoring the strange glances she was getting. She knocked on his door, then without waiting for an answer, entered the room.

"ProfessorcanIwatchoveryourdetentionclassatseveno'clocktonightpleasepleasepleasepleaseplease?" she asked. Snape looked up at her from the book he was reading. "English please?" he asked silkily.

"Can I watch over your detention class at seven o'clock tonight?" she asked again, slowing down. Snape's eyes widened. "Why?" he asked cautiously.

"Because I want to. There's something I want to do. I want to give revenge to a certain redhead. Please, Uncle Sevvie?" she put on her most innocent, sad expression.

Snape groaned and looked away. "Don't look at me like that, Ri." She continued, and he finally gave in. "Okay. Just don't screw up anything in my lab, and clean everything up afterwards. And if you all get too loud, I will take over." Riana nodded, and Snape went back to reading his book. Riana left the room joyously.

At six, she headed to the Great Hall and joined her friends at the table. She filled them in on what she had been doing all day. Millicent smirked. "Have fun in detention, then. I'm going to relax tonight and get my voice ready for the game tomorrow." Riana stuck her tongue out to the girl. The others laughed.

At ten to seven, Riana left the table and headed down to the dungeons. She got out five cauldrons, one for her, four for the others, and set the burner on low under each one. Then she got out the supplies that they would need.

At seven o'clock, the four others came in. There was Seamus, who seemed miserable. His eyes widened when he saw Riana. Then there were three Ravenclaws, two girls and one boy. There was Lisa, a blonde girl with large brown eyes. Then there was Julia, a quiet brunette with blue eyes. And finally, there was-

"Greg!" Riana cried. Gregory Goyle looked up and smiled. "Hey. What are you doing down here?" Riana shut the Potions book she had been looking through.

"Well, Professor Snape is letting me watch over detention tonight. I was thinking of doing something slightly different than a Potions assignment." Greg looked at the heating cauldrons and smirked. "What are we making?"

Riana clasped her hands behind her back innocently. "I was just thinking that since you're all in here because of Weasley, we could make him a little present." The other four's eyes widened.

"Like…" Julia asked. Riana grinned. "I was thinking a little gas potion." Seamus grinned. "Excellent! We can give it to him in the Great Hall!" Riana nodded.

"Okay, here's what I need you all to do. Seamus, you need to make a Nutrition Potion. Lisa, Julia, we need two Protein Potions. And Greg, I need your specialty." They nodded and all four got to work. Riana walked around, making sure that everybody was doing it correctly.

After about an hour, the potions were ready. Riana took a small amount of each one and brought it to her own cauldron. Slowly, she mixed certain quantities of the potions together, muttering words under her breath. At last, the potion turned a bright orange, exactly like orange juice, and the five cheered.

"Okay, Seamus, you're in charge of making sure that this gets into Ron's drink tomorrow morning, okay? Lisa and Julia, you two need to tell every student you see to be in the hall by seven thirty tomorrow, today? That's the end of your detention. Have fun."

Seamus and the others left the room, laughing and talking happily. Riana cleaned up the room, put everything away, and left the dungeon.

Riana headed to her common room. When she reached the portrait, she smiled to Salazar. He smiled back, and the snake hissed. **_'So, you've finally come back from your fun, have you? Your friends are waiting for you,' _**Salazar said, opening the door without a password. He liked Riana a lot.

Riana smiled and entered the room. She found her friends sitting in front of the fire. "Hi, strange people," she said, plopping down on the rug in front of the sofa. Draco grinned. "So, what should we expect tomorrow?" he asked. Riana grinned. "Just don't breathe the air," she advised. They all laughed and talked until they went to bed.

The next morning dawned very bright and cold. The Great Hall was full of the delicious smell of fried sausages and the cheerful chatter of everybody looking forward to a great Quidditch match.

"You've got to eat some breakfast."

"I don't want anything."

"Just a bit of toast," Hermione begged.

"I'm not hungry."

Riana was pretty nervous. She was assured with her flying skills, but this was her first Quidditch game. Having the Dark Lord as her father made it pretty hard to find some kids to play with.

Draco, who had been watching her, frowned. "Well, if you don't eat, I guess we'll have to force-feed you."

"You wouldn't da-" Riana started, then was forced to stop as Draco stuffed a forkful of eggs into her mouth. Swallowing quickly, she glared and started to eat some pancakes. Draco grinned.

"Hey, look at Weasley," Millicent said suddenly. Riana looked up and grinned. Dean was talking to Weasley, drifting his focus from his drink. As they argued, Seamus quickly slipped the potion into the glass, then waved to Dean. The boy understood and suddenly turned away. Weasley, confused, took a sip of his drink. Riana watched as his eyes widened slightly. She looked at her watch. "Three…two…one," she whispered

_POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT_

Everybody stopped talking and stared at Weasley, whose face had turned the color of a tomato. Riana giggled as he just kept on letting out gas. Everybody sitting near him quickly moved far away, and the whole hall laughed as he tried to squish his butt to not let any more air escape. It was useless. Every few seconds, another fart would ring out.

Riana looked up at the Head table, and she gave Professor Snape a smile. He shook his head but smiled back, taking a large sip of his drink to keep from laughing.

After a couple of minutes of this, Professor Dumbledore raised his hand. "Stanaris," he uttered. Weasley stopped farting, and he grinned in relief. Dumbledore stood up and looked down at the students. "Rest assured, when I find out who did this, that student will be punished." He said nothing, but as he scanned the students, his eyes lingered on Riana for a few extra seconds.

After a few minutes, students started heading outside to take their seats. Riana hugged her friends goodbye, then headed to the locker rooms with the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

Riana, along with the others, changed into green Quidditch robes. Then they gathered around Flinch to hear his talk.

"Okay team," he started off. "This is the first game of the season, and we're gonna win. Everyone needs to play the best that they can, and don't take any crap from the Gryffindorks. Everybody ready? Okay, let's go."

They followed Flint out of the locker rooms onto the field, listening to loud cheers. It seemed that the Slytherins had more fans, for all of the Ravenclaws and part of the Gryffindors were cheering for them, too. Riana caught sight of Dean and Seamus sitting with Hermione and the others in the Slytherin section and grinned.

Madam Hooch was refereeing. She stood in the middle of the field waiting for the two teams, her broom in her hand.

"Now I want a nice, fair game, all of you," she said. Riana noticed that she seemed to be talking to a pair of twins on the Gryffindor team. Her mouth twitched.

"Mount your brooms, please."

Riana cleanly climbed onto her Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle.

Fifteen brooms rose up high, high into the air. They were off.

"And the Quaffle is immediately taken by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor- what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too-"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, professor."

A third-year Gryffindor was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet- back to Johnson and- no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Erica Meyre gains the Quaffle and off she goes- Meyre flying like an eagle up there- she's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle- that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Dawson, off up the field and- OUCH- that must have hurt, hit in the back off the head by a Bludger- Quaffle taken by the Slytherins- that's Julie Grendal speeding off toward the goal posts, but she's blocked by a second Bludger- sent her way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which- nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes- she's really flying- dodges a speeding Bludger- the goal posts are ahead- come on, now, Angelina- Keeper Flint dives- misses- GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

Gryffindor cheers filled the cold air, with howls and moans from the Slytherins.

"The Slytherins are doing fantastic, but the Gryffindors just keep blocking them," Susan commented. "Yeah, and our little Riana is just staying out of it," Theodore pointed out.

Way up above them, Riana was gliding over the game, looking around for the Snitch. She didn't want to get hurt before she had a chance to find it.

The Gryffindors continued to stay on top, with the Slytherins only slightly behind. After about thirty minutes, the score was 70 to 60, Gryffindors leading. Riana was feeling anxious, until she finally saw it.

The Snitch had just passed Adrian's left shoulder. Riana leaned forward and shot for it, feeling the wind rush through her undone hair. Apparently, the Gryffindor Seeker had spotted it too; he and Riana hurtled neck to neck toward the Snitch.

Everybody seemed to have forgotten what they were supposed to be doing as they watched the two Seekers. Riana was faster than the Gryffindor, she put on an extra burst of speed as she reached out to grab the fluttering ball-

WHAM! A roar of rage echoed from the Slytherins below. One of the Beaters had blocked Riana on purpose, and her broom went off course. She got it under control and looked around. The Snitch had vanished.

Gryffindor took a penalty. Michelle made a goal, which tied up the game. Then they continued playing.

It was as Riana dodged another Bludger that it happened. Her broom gave a sudden, frightening lurch. For a split second, she thought she was going to fall. She gripped the broom tightly with both hands and knees. She didn't want to have to use any magic to save herself right now.

It happened again. It felt like the broom was trying to buck her off. But that was impossible. Nothing could interfere with a broom besides strong magic. Riana had half a mind to call for a timeout, but before she could, she found that her broom was out of control. She couldn't direct it at all. It was zigzagging through the air, and every now and then making violent swishing movements that almost unseated her.

The Slytherins had just scored, and they were cheering. No one seemed to have noticed yet that Riana's broom was behaving strangely. It was carrying her slowly higher, jerking and twitching as it went.

"What's Riana doing?" Hermione asked suddenly. The others looked up and gasped.

Riana's broom had just started to roll over and over, with her just barely hanging on. Then people screamed as her broom gave a wild jerk and she swung off, dangling from it with only one hand.

"What is going on?" Pansy shouted. Draco grabbed her binoculars and began to look around the stands. At last he nodded. "Quirrell," he said.

They all turned to the teacher stands. Sure enough, Quirrell had his eyes fixed on Riana and was muttering nonstop under his breath.

"He's jinxing the broom," Theodore hissed.

"What do we do?" Millicent asked. Susan pulled out her wand and stood up. "Leave it to me," she said, and slipped away. The others looked back up at Riana. Her broom was vibrating so hard, it was impossible for her to hang on much longer. The whole crowd was on its feet, watching, terrified, as Adrian and David circled under her, ready to catch her if she fell. Marcus seized the Quaffle and scored five times in a row without anybody noticing.

"Come on, Susan," Draco whispered.

Susan had fought her way to the stand where Quirrell stood, and was now racing along the row behind him. Reaching Quirrell, she crouched down, pulled out her wand, and whispered a few well-chosen words. Bright blue flames shot from her wand onto the hem of Quirrell's robes.

It took perhaps thirty seconds for Quirrell to realize he was on fire. A sudden scream told her she had done her job. Scooping the fire off him into a small jar in her pocket, she scrambled back along the row- the dope would never know what had happened.

It was enough. Up in the air, Riana was suddenly able to clamber back onto her room.

"Neville, you can look!" Blaise said. Neville had been sobbing into his robes for the last five minutes.

Riana was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw her clamp a hand to her mouth as if she was about to be sick. She hit the field on all fours- coughed- and something gold fell into her hand.

Victorious, she waved the Snitch around above her, and the game ended in complete confusion.

"She didn't _catch _it, she nearly _swallowed _it!" Oliver Wood was still howling twenty minutes later, but it made no difference- Riana hadn't broken any rules and the Slytherins were still happily shouting the results- Slytherin had won by two hundred and eighty points to seventy. Riana heard none of this, though. She was being given another wonderful back massage by Neville back in the Slytherin common room.

"It was Quirrell," Hermione was explaining. "We all saw him. He was cursing your broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"But why would Quirrell try and kill me?" Riana wondered. Hermione shrugged.

"Maybe Dumbledore told him to," Draco suggested softly. The boy was sitting next to Riana, staring at the ground darkly.

"Maybe Dumbledore thinks that you should die because you're _too _powerful. He might not want to risk the chance that his 'Golden Girl' betrays him and helps Voldemort take the world throne," the quiet boy continued.

"Well, that's a nice thought," Millicent said sarcastically. "Anyways, we're not gonna let you get hurt, Ri. One, you're our friend, and two, if you die, who's going to teach us forbidden spells?" The others laughed. Riana rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Millicent. I feel so appreciated."

Christmas was coming. One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the two twins that Riana came to realize were Ronald's older brothers were punished for bewitching several snowballs so that they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban. The few owls that managed to battle their way through the stormy sky to deliver mail had to be nursed back to health by Hagrid. More than once, Riana had to heal Ebony's injuries.

No one could wait for the holidays to start. While the Slytherin common room and the Great Hall had roaring fires, the drafty corridors had become icy and a bitter wind rattled the window s in the classrooms. Worst of all, mainly to the Gryffindors, were Professor Snape's classes down in the dungeons, where their breath rose in a mist before them and they kept as close as possible to their hot cauldrons. Riana didn't mind so much, usually finding the cold comforting to her hot forehead. She had been having a slight fever lately, but she didn't go to Madam Pomfrey. The woman would keep her in the infirmary for a week. Instead, she used her healing powers to cool down her body slightly.

"I do feel sorry," said Ronald Weasley, one Potions class, "for all of those people who have to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas because they are unwanted at home."

Riana rolled her eyes when she felt him look over at her. It was true that she couldn't go home now, but only because she could be easily tracked back to the Riddle mansion. She couldn't leave Hogwarts until the end of term.

Draco had offered to let Riana come to his home for Christmas, and she accepted, but then both children had learned the Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy had to travel elsewhere for Christmas, on Tom's orders. So they decided to stay, the only others staying with them being Susan and Neville.

When they left the dungeons at the end of Potions, they found a large fir tree blocking their way. Two enormous feet sticking out at the bottom and a loud puffing sound told them that Hagrid was behind it.

"Could you move?" Theodore asked bluntly. Hagrid grunted. "I'll get through in me own time, ya little Snake." Theodore and the others looked shocked by that answer, and Draco was about to jinx the ginormous (that means bigger than gigantic and enormous, just for the slightly slower people) man when he felt something drop against him. Looking to his side, he saw that Riana was leaning on him heavily, her breathing light. "Something's wrong," she whispered. "This isn't normal." Then she fainted.

"Ri?" Draco asked. No response. She was very unconscious. Her picked her up quickly. "Look freak-lover, our friend just fainted. We have to get through. Now." Hagrid grunted but moved to the side, allowing Draco and the others to stride past quickly.

"What's wrong with her?" Hermione asked worriedly, glancing at Riana's pale face. Draco shrugged. "Let's take her to her room," he decided. They headed for the Slytherin common room, reached it, and entered without a password. Then they headed past curious Slytherins to the girls' room. Draco set Riana on her bed gently, then felt the girl's forehead. To his delight and shock, it was cooling down quickly. After a few moments, she was back to normal.

Riana's eyes fluttered open and she clutched her head. "What happened?" she asked weakly. The other's sighed in relief.

"You passed out. You said something about it not being normal," Draco explained. Riana's eyes widened, and she sat up quickly. "That's right! Before I passed out, I could feel something tugging inside of me, like it was tugging my magic. Something's trying to get my magic!" She lied back down again slowly.

"Well, I bet I know who that someone is," Millicent said angrily. Everybody grimaced. "Dumbledore," the ten said in unison.

"That's just low, though. Stealing my magic out of my own body? That's like stealing a baby's bottle!" Riana said. Vincent sighed. "Yes, but when had Dumbledore ever done anything not low?" he pointed out. The other's shrugged.

"Well, at least we know that Dumbledore wants my magic, and he's determined to get it. Now we just have to figure out what to do about this Sorcerer's Stone thing," Hermione said. Riana smiled. "Yeah, but not for awhile. I'm going to enjoy my break."

Once the holidays had started, Riana and the others were having too good a time to think about Dumbledork or anything like that. It turns out that the four Slytherins were the only ones that had stayed over break, so they had the whole dormitory to themselves.

They spent most of their time sitting by the fire, sipping on Coke that Riana's father had sent her, talking about funny ways to get Weasley expelled. Riana also started to teach Neville wizard chess, as his grandmother had never let him play. He was actually a pretty good strategist, but although he came close, he could never beat Riana.

On Christmas Eve, Riana went to bed looking forward to the next day for the food and the fun, but not expecting many gifts. Her father always got her a lot, but he wasn't here this year, and she was used to getting gifts from only a few people. When she was waken up early in the morning by Valiant pouncing on her, however, the first thing she saw was an enormous pile of presents on the edge of her bed. She laughed, gently pried the cheetah off of her, and got up. Susan was waking up, too. She smiled at Riana.

"Good morning. Why don't we go open these in the common room with the boys?" Riana nodded in agreement, and the two levitated their presents out to the larger area, where the boys were already waiting in front of the fire. They grinned at the girls. "I thought you two would never come!" Draco teased, and was rewarded with a mock glare.

The four sat there for about ten seconds, then tore into the presents. Riana received a large box of Hershey's Chocolate Kisses from Hermione, a gift card to her favorite muggle store from Theodore, an actual flying Snitch from Blaise and Neville (they had teamed up to buy her gift), Mariah Carey's new CD The Emancipation of Mimi from Susan (which I do not own), a cute mini black sweater with a green hoodie under it from Millicent, a bottle of perfume from Pansy, a box of Chocolate Frogs from Vincent, and a beautiful black choker with dark green emeralds in it from Draco. Riana hugged the boy briefly after this gift.

Bellatrix gave Riana another large box of candy, mainly muggle. Riana's uncle's each got her a book. _How to Heal Mythical Creatures Safely_, _How to Choose Your Animagus Form_, _The Complete Guide to Pranks With Potions_, and _Charming Your Superiors(In Both Ways)_. I'm sure that you can figure out who gave what.

Then came the strange gifts. Riana received at least fifty packages and letters from boys at Hogwarts she didn't know. She and Susan read the letters together, the redhead laughing while Riana sat in shock. That day, she received at least six marriage proposals.

Finally, the girl opened her father's gift. It was very light, and when she unwrapped it, something fluid and silvery gray went slithering to the floor. Draco gasped, and Riana squealed with glee.

"An invisibility cloak!" she cried. "Cool!" She picked up the letter that had come with the girl and read it quickly.

_Riana,_

_This cloak belonged to your original father, and he wanted you to have it. I thought that now would be a good time to find it and pass it to you. Have fun._

_Your Father_

Riana tried the cloak on. Her head hung by itself in midair, and Neville nearly choked on the gum he was chewing. "Wicked," he said.

Riana took off the cloak and grabbed two unwrapped presents. "I'll be back soon. I have to take these to some people. Don't eat my candy!" With that, she opened the portrait and ran out of the common room.

The girl walked through the hallways briskly. "Now, where is that stupid portrait?" she muttered to herself. She knew where the Gryffindor common room was. She had followed some stupid Gryffindors one day to it, learning the password at the same time. When she finally reached the portrait of the fat lady, she glared up at it. "Eggnoggins," she said darkly. The fat lady looked surprised but opened up anyways, allowing the young girl to enter.

The Gryffindor common room was similar to the Slytherin one, but this one was a lot smaller. Everything was crimson and gold, and Riana almost went blind when she walked in. She saw that there were only six people in there, all boys. There was Weasley, the two twins, an older redhead, and Seamus and Dean. The latter two were sitting by the roaring fireplace, talking.

Riana smiled and started walking to them, but stopped when she heard someone call her. "You there! What are you doing in here? You're not a Gryffindor." Riana turned to the oldest redhead. She faintly remembered him being 'Percy'.

"If I knew the password, then I could come in, so shut up, you burnt up dishrag." She kept on walking to Seamus and Dean, who were now staring at her. Reaching them, she tossed the presents into their laps and plopped down in the empty armchair. The boys looked confused, but unwrapped their presents and grinned. "Cool!" they said at the same time.

Riana had gotten Seamus a book entitled _The Greatest Half-Bloods in History_ and Dean a set of ten tickets to the International Soccer Competition for over the summer. He looked at them in glee. "But how did you get these? They don't go on sale for weeks!" Riana shrugged. "Connections. Now you can go with your mom, dad, and your little brother. Plus you can pick a few friends from your old school or something." Dean held them tightly. "Why don't you take one and come? It'll be awesome!" Riana smiled. "I'll think about it," she replied.

The girl sat with the boys for a little bit, chatting about what was going on. "So Dean, how did your last fight with Weasley go?" Riana asked. She had been helping the boy a little bit, showing him simple moves that helped a lot. He grinned. "Not a scratch on me, and Weasley had two bruises." He sounded very proud of himself.

At that moment, Ron Weasley decided to walk over and see what was going on. His brothers followed him. "What's this? A half-blood, a mud-blood, and a psycho bitch- I mean witch- are all sitting here together. Having a little dumb party?" Riana rolled her eyes. "Doesn't your brother know how stupid he sounds?" she asked one of the twins. He grinned. "I doubt it," he responded.

"What are your names again?" Dean asked. The twins stood up straighter.

"I'm Fred-"

"And I'm George-"

"And we are the Weasley twins!"

"Little Ronniekin's older brother-"

"Who is a stupid git!" they finished off together. Riana laughed. They were funny.

"Nice! Well, I have to go back to the Slytherins now. Seamus, Dean, see you at dinner, okay?" The boys nodded, and Riana left the common room, heading back to her own, were she was promptly bombarded with questions from her very nosy friends.

Christmas dinner was wonderful. A hundred fat, roast turkeys; mountains of roast and boiled potatoes; platters of chipolatas; tureens of buttered peas, silver boats of thick, rich gravy and cranberry sauce- and stacks of wizard crackers every few feet along the table. Riana pulled a wizard cracker with Draco and it went off with a blast like a cannon and engulfed them all in a cloud of blue smoke, while from the inside exploded a lacy thong and several live, white mice. Riana grabbed the thong and hid it quickly, her face a bright pink, while Draco laughed.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Neville nearly broke his tooth on a silver sickle embedded in his slice. Riana watched, amused, as Hagrid got redder and redder in the face as he called for more wine, finally kissing Professor McGonagall on the cheek, who blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl, her top hat lopsided. Severus seemed uncomfortable as the ladies at the table grew increasingly drunker and began sidling towards him. It was true, that with his looks he was very handsome (I'm making him handsome 'cause I like him!) with his long hair, high cheekbones, and sparkling eyes, but everybody avoided him because of his bad attitude.

When Riana left the table, she was laden down with a stack of things out of the crackers, including her thong, a pack of exploding firecrackers, and a golden quill. The white mice had disappeared and Riana had a sneaking suspicion that they would become Mrs. Norris' Christmas dinner.

The four Slytherins spent a happy afternoon having a furious snowball fight on the grounds, girls against boys. Then, cold, wet, and gasping for breath, they returned to the fire in the Slytherin common room, where Riana and Neville played a good game of wizard's chess with the set that Neville had gotten from a cracker. She was finally beaten, and Neville spent about ten minutes jumping around the room in glee.

After a meal of Turkey sandwiches, crumpets, trifle, and Christmas cake, everyone felt too full and sleepy to do much before bedtime, except sit together in front of the fire and just think for a little while. The boys sat on the couch with the girls between them, Susan leaning on Neville and Riana on Draco. The latter girl laid her head on Draco's shoulder and played with his hair absently as she stared into the fire. It was a very sweet sight.

It had been a wonderful Christmas. Yet something had been nagging at the back of Riana's mind all day. Not until she climbed into bed was she free to think about it: the invisibility cloak.

Riana leaned over the side of her bed and pulled the cloak out from under it. This had been her father's…her _real _father's. She let the material flow over her hands, smoother than silk, light as air.

She had to try it, now. She slipped out of bed and wrapped the cloak around herself. Looking down at her legs, she saw nothing. It was a very funny feeling.

_Have fun._

Suddenly, Riana felt wide awake. The whole of Hogwarts was open to her with this cloak. Sure, she could make herself invisible, but it took way too much energy, and attracted others to herself because of the immense amount of power. Excitement flooded through her as she stood there in the dark and silence. She could go anywhere in this, and nobody would know.

Riana crept out of her room and across the hall, to the boys' room. She slipped in quietly, then walked over to Draco's bed. For a moment, she wanted to let him sleep. He looked so innocent, with his hair mussed up and a small smile on his face. Then Riana thought what would happen if she left without him and he found out. She shuddered.

"Draco, wake up," she called softly. The boy turned his head slightly, facing her, and cracked his eyes open. "Ri? What's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm going to use that cloak now. Do you want to come with me?" Riana asked. Draco, thought for a moment, then nodded and got out of bed. He grabbed a silver robe and wrapped it around his fine body, as he only slept in boxers. Then he slipped on some shoes, and Riana swung the cloak over both of them. "Let's go," she whispered.

They crept out of the dormitory and common room, then paused for a moment. "Where too?" Riana whispered. Draco thought for a moment.

"How about the Library? We can go into the restricted section," he suggested. Riana nodded, and they started in that direction.

Draco stayed right behind Riana, so that he could stay completely covered by the cloak. Riana found herself blushing when she felt Draco's warm breath on the back of her neck, and goosebumps began to cover her arms. She tried to reason that it was just because she was so cold, but that didn't last when she felt herself shiver noticeably after a few more breaths.

"Are you okay, Riana?" Draco asked concernedly. Riana stopped and let loose a deep breath. "I-I think so," she muttered. Draco didn't look convinced, but let it go.

The library was pitch-black and very eerie. Riana lit a lamp so they could see their way along the rows of books. The lamp looked as though it was floating along in midair, and although Riana could feel her arm supporting it, it still was slightly unnerving.

The Restricted Section was right at the back of the library. Stepping carefully over the rope that separated these books from the rest of the library, the two held up the lamp to read the titles.

The covers didn't tell much. Most books were torn and fading, and written in different languages that Riana could vaguely remember from her earlier classes. Some had no title at all. One had a dark stain on it that looked like blood, and the hairs on the back of Riana's neck prickled. This was weird.

The Slytherins had to start somewhere. Pulling off the cloak and setting the lamp down carefully on the floor, they looked along the bottom shelf for something interesting. A large black and silver volume caught Riana's eye. She pulled it out carefully, then, balancing it on her knee, let it fall open.

A piercing, blood-curdling shriek broke the silence- the book was screaming! Riana snapped it shut, but the shriek went on and on, loud and ringing. She stumbled backward and knocked over the lamp, which went out at once. She turned to Draco as she heard footsteps coming down the corridor outside.

"Out, now," she whispered. He nodded, and they slipped under the cloak and ran out of the library, passing Filch, who looked straight through them and glared. They ran up the corridor, the book's shrieks still ringing in their ears.

Draco came to a sudden stop in front of a tall suit of armor and pulled Riana back. "Er, Riana, I think we're okay now. But by the way- where are we?"

Riana looked around and frowned. "I think…actually, I don't know. It's too dark to tell. And I'm not making any light. Too dangerous."

"You asked me to come directly to you, Professor, if anyone was wandering around at night, and somebody's been in the library- Restricted Section."

Riana turned pale. Wherever she was, Filch must know a shortcut, because his soft, greasy voice was getting closer, and to her horror, it was Dumbledore who replied, "The Restricted Section? Well, they can't be that far, we'll catch them."

Riana and Draco stood rooted to the spot as Filch and Dumbledore came around the corner ahead. They couldn't see the two children, of course, but it was a narrow corridor and if they came much closer they'd knock right into the two- the cloak didn't stop them from being solid.

They backed away as quietly as they could. A door stood ajar to their left. It was their only hope. They squeezed through it, holding their breath, trying not to move it, and to their relief they managed to get inside the room without the older men noticing anything.

Dumbledore and Filch walked straight past, and Riana leaned against the wall, breathing deeply, listening to their footsteps die away. That had been close, very close. It was a few seconds before either she or Draco noticed anything about the room they had hidden in.

It looked like an unused classroom. The dark shapes of desks and chairs were piled against the walls, and there was an upturned wastebasket- but propped up against the wall facing them was something that didn't look as if it belonged there, something that looked as if someone had put it there to keep it out of the way.

It was a magnificent mirror, as high as the ceiling, with an ornate gold frame, standing on two clawed feet. There was an inscription carved around the top: _Erised stra ehru oyt cafru oyt on wohsi. _

Riana moved toward the mirror. "Wow," she whispered. "That's awesome."

The girl stood in front of the mirror as Draco watched, and gasped. Draco moved forward. "What's wrong?" he asked. Riana didn't say anything, just stared into the mirror.

Draco sighed. "Riana, what is it?" he asked again.

"I see me…but I also see my father-Tom…and my mother…they have their arms around me…and mom's stroking my hair…and then, there's Dumbledore behind us…but I think he's dead…and I killed him, I can tell…and then…er, actually…"

Riana didn't want to tell Draco what she now saw; it was too embarrassing. Her parents and Dumbledore had disappeared, and she now saw herself, but she was different. She looked older, around sixteen. As she observed herself, she saw that she was still gorgeous, and wore dark green robes lined in gold. She had a fine silver crown on her head, with the words _Dark Queen _engraved on it. But the embarrassing thing with that Draco was standing behind her, his arms around her as he rested his head on her shoulder. He was dressed like her, with a silver crown, and both teens were smiling.

"Hey Riana, I just remembered something from a book I read. This is the mirror of Erised, and it shows you what your heart most desires when you look into it. Cool, huh?"

Riana blushed a dark red and stepped away from the mirror quickly. "You try, then," she said. Draco stepped up to the mirror and looked into it. A few seconds later he hurriedly stepped back. "I just killed Dumbledore!" he cried.

Riana frowned. "Is that all you saw?" she asked. Draco nodded. "Why?" he asked. Riana just shook her head and picked up the cloak. She got under it and Draco followed. "Lumos," she boy whispered, as they had forgotten the lamp in the library.

They headed back to the Slytherin common room, which they entered quietly. Then they said goodnight and parted, heading to their own bedrooms. Riana crawled in bed, thinking about what had just happened.

Her greatest desires were to defeat Dumbledore, have a mother…and to have Draco as her own. She shivered under her covers. Apparently, he didn't want her back as much as she wanted him.

"That's okay. That isn't my first concern," she whispered, as she softly scratched Valiant behind the ears as he had jumped up onto the bed beside her. She kissed the cheetah goodnight quickly, then fell asleep.

Review Responses:

Luna051: Sorry, not with Severus! Maybe on anther story. I like writing Harry-as-girl fiction so much, and I might put her with Severus sometime.

Curalium Lacrimo: I understand about what you think, but I don't think a Weasley twin is good for Riana. As a friend, yes, but as a boyfriend, no. Don't worry. In one of my sequels I'll probably make Twins, Bill, and Charlie at LEAST semi-evil, but probably fully evil. I just love that! Oh, and I'm not sure about an eating disorder, if she does get one, the story will not AT ALL be based around it. I just wrote that little part about weight because I know how worried many young girls are about their weight, and I wanted to show that she does worry about a lot of things. Thanks for your opinion!

korrd: Many girls and boys start thinking about how 'hot' and 'fine' other girls and boys are around nine years old, at least the ones that I know (and I know a lot of kids! Babysitting isn't easy!) I think eleven is a pretty good age.

Veriea Fornnan: LOVE the idea. I'll probably do that, but I'm not sure. Thanks!

Helen: Sorry about the wait! I'll update again soon, promise: )

PhanPhic-adict: THANK YOU SO MUCH! –wipes away a few tears- That review made me feel so good. I'm flattered.

feather-kufu: Don't worry! I'm planning a lot of Ron embarrassing himself!

Pennesylvania: Thanks!

CassaAndra: Thanks! Yep, Draco's protective, all right. Dumb boy doesn't even know how he feels about Ri! –sigh-

Angela Lillith Potter: Look, I updated!

Everybody Else That Reviewed: THANK YOU!

**Poll Results:**

**Riana/Draco: 21**

**Riana/Neville: 5**

**Riana/Dean: 5**

**Riana/OC: 3**

**Riana/Blaise: 4**

**Riana/Weasley Twin: 1**

**Riana/Severus: 2**

**-stares at the responses- How the heck did the last two get there? Oh well. It's your review. Apparently, most want a Riana/Draco, so that's probably what I'll make. Keep reviewing and tell me!**

-calmbreeze


	4. Important Note!

Okay peoples, I really regret saying this, but I'm afraid this story is going to be on hiatus for a while, at least until I get my inspiration back. Any plot ideas would be appreciated, but unless I get some serious motivation, I just don't think I can continue this. Plus, since my computer's crap and it deleted all of my fourth chapter drafts, I'm kind of pissed off with this story right now.

In the meantime, if you like my stories in general and not just girl!Harry, then you can visit my other account youngdaughterofdarkness and discover the wonderful world of Prince of Tennis. I actually do update those stories occasionally.

I'll be back, just not immediately! Sorry for any sadness!


	5. Author's Note: Extremely Important News

Update! Update! Just…not the kind of update you'd like…

But please listen (read) closely anyways! After trying exactly thirteen times to create Chapter Four, and hating each and every one, I've decided that I'm going to go through and revise this story. The chapters might be a **little shorter**, and some **details** might **change/disappear**, but the _**general ideas will remain the same**_, I promise!

So, I'd appreciate any reviews you'd like to offer about ideas for this story. I hope this news doesn't hurt or anger anybody.

-Darkie-

P.S. My screen name is subject to change as well. Calmbreeze brings back some unpleasant memories. Be on the lookout!


	6. Another Author's Note

-Sigh- I know a LOT of people are going to be angry because of this, but…I'm officially giving up this story. I don't have enough time to spend on it, along with all of the stories on my other account.

If you'd like to **take over this story** for me, **PM me** and I'll check out your own work before making my choice. If nobody volunteers to take over this story in **seven days**, I'll remove it from the site. I'm very sorry to everyone who's been waiting for so long for an update, but this is one story I just can't continue.

-Darkie-


End file.
